


A Woman At War (Rewritten)

by cchickki



Category: Band of Brothers (TV 2001)
Genre: F/M, World War II
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-06
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-12 18:54:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 52,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29389440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cchickki/pseuds/cchickki
Summary: Marie Docherty chose to enter the paratroopers as one of the first females to join the fight. That was her choice. What she didn't choose was to fall in love with a fellow soldier, or grow attached enough to endure bloodshed and heartbreak like no other. Join Marie (again) through the Eastern front of WWII as she cares for the men of Easy Company.*This is a rewritten/revised fanfiction I wrote and published on my ff.net account between 2014-2015
Relationships: Donald Malarkey/Original Female Character(s), Floyd Talbert/Original Female Character(s)





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I decided to start posting this version of my fic on here, too. I'm not sure how often I will post updates since I am working on other projects (plus life gets in the way), but I am hoping to be somewhat consistent. I do love this story so I want to give it the necessary revisions and attention that it needs! 
> 
> Note: Although I keep historical events and references close to the "real thing", the men of Easy Company in this story are NOT based off of the real men! I mean no disrespect to the real men of Easy Company who fought valiantly in the Eastern Front during WWII. This is a work of fiction! 
> 
> Enjoy, and thank you for reading!

**Prologue**

Marie drummed her fingers anxiously against her knee, which was covered conservatively by an itchy skirt she already regretted wearing. She bit her lip, feeling small under the stares of the military women from the posters hanging on the wall. Ironic considering a flyer of a woman dressed up as an elite paratrooper was how she ended up in the compact office in a desolate place like Camp Toccoa. She was glad she wore cotton, feeling the sweat stick to her back from the relentless Georgia heat. Marie was afraid she would look too sweaty and make a bad impression with the Lieutenant Colonel she was meeting with.

Marie studied the room, which was overly smothered with the color khaki. The entire barracks were khaki, and blended with the dusty sand colored ground that covered the entire area of Camp Toccoa. Marie could feel herself covered in dust from the spinning tires of her father's Oldsmobile. He had dropped her off, gave her a hearty goodbye, and sped off into the horizon before Marie could change her mind. There was no backing out now. She made a commitment to use her medical skills to help with the war effort in any way that she could. She had already contacted Lieutenant Colonel Robert Sink, showing her interest in this new female paratrooper program. He eagerly responded with a meeting date. Now she was waiting for Sink inside his office, feeling restless, overheated, and less excited then she originally imagined she would be.

"Ms. Docherty!" A thick, southern accent chimed in, making her almost jump out of her chair.

Marie shot up, bringing up her hand in a sloppy salute. "It's great to meet you, sir!"

 _Don't lay it on too thick._ She thought to herself.

Sink extended his hand, giving Marie a firm handshake that made her hand feel as if she had gotten it stuck in a compressor. He made his way around his desk and sat before her. Marie sat back down and scooted her chair closer. Sink was what one would call an "old breed" in the Army. All his hair had gone silver with his old age, and he had a matching bushy moustache covering his upper lip. Despite his age, his build had been sharpened into the standard military issue of what a physically fit man was _supposed_ to look like.

"Now, I know we discussed most of what was needed for your initiation into the program over the phone. Today I'll be issuing you your Class A and B uniforms, as well as your PT uniform. You won't receive your official paratrooper uniform and helmet with the insignia until you complete all your required steps and graduate as a full-fledged paratrooper." Sink gave her a genuine smile as he shuffled through some documents on his desk. "Now, I understand you registered yourself with the preference of being a medic, is that correct?"

"Yes, sir." She answered.

"A medic is considered a technician rank. With your college degree, your rank is up to about a technician third grade, which is equivalent to the rank of sergeant. But understand, because it's a technician rank instead of a standard grunt, you will not be allowed to be issued your own platoon even though you're an NCO. Understand?"

"Yes, sir."

"You will be taking standard fitness tests and paratrooper training along with the other members of your company, but medical classes will be added to your agenda. Every soldier receives special training based on their squad, preference, or skill level." Sink continued on, his voice matter-of-fact, but not unfriendly.

Marie listened intently, worried she wouldn't retain all the information he was giving her.

"Now, I'm sure you're eager to find out which company you'll be placed in?"

"Sir." Marie nodded curtly.

Sink studied her document, and smiled to himself, which made Marie feel uneasy.

"You're being assigned to Easy Company, part of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division. Don't worry, you're not the only female that will be joining a group of men. A woman named Emilia Valdez has enlisted, and is also a technician rank." Sink's dark brown eyes scanned the paper. "Her specialty is making maps and translating. Along with the two of you joining Easy Company, there are four other women that have been selected to be a part of other companies of the 506th. Jane Elliot and Barbara Goode will be joining Dog Company; Diana Schumacher and Florence Neil will be joining Fox Company. This is a trial run for allowing women to be a part of the frontlines, so only six women have been accepted so far. That may change in the future."

Marie nodded, letting Sink know that she was still following his rundown. He laced his callused, wrinkled fingers together, and leaned against his desk as if he was attempting to close the distance between them. She caught a shift in his expression from lightheartedness to seriousness, placing Marie on edge.

"There are a few rules 'round here, after all this is the Army, not grade school." Sink stated, keeping his eyes confidently fixed on Marie like a prominent figure of authority does. "Absolutely no fraternizing or any acts of fornication are allowed with the men. Breaking this rule will lead to instant disqualification, and you will be dishonorably discharged. Understand?"

"Yes, sir." Marie said. She wasn't here to pick out a husband; she was here to help her country. She wouldn't allow herself to be distracted by such frivolous matters like romance.

"Secondly, the women will be receiving their own barracks, even though ya'll are from separate companies. You are not _permitted_ into the men's barracks at any time. There are four steps you must successfully pass in order to be an official member of the Airborne. Physical fitness, successfully completing practice jumps, packing and unpacking a 'chute, and the five required jumps from a C-47." Sink leaned back in his chair, his mood suddenly switching back to being warm. He smiled again. "Any questions, young lady?"

Marie pondered a moment; carefully analyzing everything Sink had told her. She finally looked him in the eye. "No, sir."

Sink stood up and extended his arm again. "Welcome to the paratroopers."


	2. Welcome to Camp Toccoa

**Chapter 1: Welcome to Camp Toccoa**

_Camp Toccoa, Georgia_

_August 1942_

Marie Docherty examined her uniform with an overzealous critical eye, smoothing out the creases of her fatigues. She'd only just arrived at Toccoa yesterday, and there were rumors of her CO being one of the toughest company commanders in all of Camp Toccoa. The rumors did cause her anxiety, especially at the known fact that many of the soldiers weren't too thrilled that women had been accepted to serve alongside them. The very idea was "unnatural" to some, but as Emilia Valdez had told her the night before, they would have to "suck it up." That bold way of thinking almost inspired her. Almost…

"I think that's about as good as you're gonna look." The thick, and somewhat abrasive Jersey drawl of Florence cut into Marie's concentration. Florence tossed back her poufy, brown hair, which had already started to frizz in the Georgia humidity. "Sobel will barely have the balls to even look at you. Did you see how that putz acted when he first saw us? I guarantee he ain't ever gonna check our barracks for contraband at the risk of having to sort through brassieres and panties. I bet he couldn't even look his wife in the eye when he fucked her."

"Goodness, Flo!" Diana exclaimed, shooting Florence a disapproving look. "We've been here less than twenty-four hours, and you're already talking like a foul-mouthed con!"

Marie watched the two women bicker back and forth. Barbara laughed at their antics, pulling her long, platinum blonde hair back in a secure bun. Emilia did the same, casting Marie a humored glance from across the women's barracks. Jane did the same, shaking her head as the two women argued on vulgarity and how it should be limited (or unlimited).

"Are you two finished? We're in the Army now, so we actually have a curfew to make," Emilia interjected, sighing in impatience. She mumbled something in Spanish to herself. She looked at Marie over her shoulder as she strode toward the barracks door, jutting out her hips in that familiar feisty gait of hers. "Are you ready to meet Sobel and the rest of Easy Company?"

Marie muttered an unenthusiastic reply, following Emilia at a much slower and less confident pace. Everything was moving way too fast for her. She felt as if they'd barely got settled in, and now they had to go meet the men they'd be heading to Europe with. The unfortunate fact was that most of these men arrived the month before and had already become acquaintances and friends; the women were the new kiddos joining the crew, which was always a disadvantage.

Florence flashed Marie an unpleasant, toothy smile. "I hope you're ready for the hard-ass."

"Don't get Marie all worried about someone she hasn't even met yet," Emilia said to Florence.

"Hey Barb, I bet you a pack of Lucky Strikes that the little blonde mouse will drop out before the end of the day." Florence chuckled, poking fun at Marie.

Emilia placed her hand on Marie's back and led her out the door. Florence's cackles could be heard even when the shut they barrack's door. Marie felt as if all her insides had descended to her lower abdomen, sitting like an immovable brick in her stomach. The two women marched without speaking for a while; their anxiety mounting with every broad step they took toward where Easy Company was gathered out on the fields. Marie glanced over at Emilia, who towered over her by a few inches, only to see her staring straight ahead, her dark eyes fixed in intense concentration. Marie wanted to say something to break the silence, but her throat had gone bone dry since setting foot outside. It was odd that Sobel had the two of them meet out in such an obscure location, but maybe that was part of the test.

After a few moments Marie heard Emilia clear her throat. A wry smile spread on her lips as her eyes caught on something interesting in the distance.

"That must be Easy Company there."

Marie followed Emilia's gaze to what appeared to be a sea of men in olive drab. A tall man with broad shoulders was already screaming at them and sizing them up. Every man stood perfectly still and erect like a statue. The screaming man was inches from their faces, patrolling the area like a hawk on the hunt for a weak rodent. Marie gulped thickly, already feeling like she was a target.

"Well, that must be Herbert Sobel." Emilia whispered. "Jane told me he was a tall drink of water with a prominent nose." Emilia slowed her pace as she noticed some of the men in line spotted them approaching, but none of them spoke up. Marie felt as if her paratrooper boots were dragging in the dirt like anchors the closer she came to Sobel, whom hadn't let up with his scolding, which seemed more and more incoherent. The two women stopped when Sobel was fully in earshot. Up close Sobel's skin looked sallow, clashing vividly with his jet-black hair.

Sobel stood with his back to the women, who were waiting for his attention but weren't sure how to speak up while he was in the middle of his tirade. Sobel stood in front of a soldier who had the facial features of a mouse: pointed noise, and small beady black eyes that were close together. He reached over to the soldier and pulled out his bayonet in a swift and aggressive motion. Sobel examined the weapon briefly, before fixing the soldier with a determined glare.

"Rusty bayonet, Liebgott. You want to kill Germans?" Sobel asked, his voice low.

"Yes, sir."

Sobel instantly smacked Liebgott on his helmet with the tip of the bayonet with his reply. Marie could see the soldier named Liebgott close his eyes with a hint of irritation, but it quickly faded before Sobel could catch on.

"Not with this." Sobel turned on his boot heel, taking the "rusty" bayonet with him. Sobel's dark, scowling eyes met Marie's and Emilia's, but he averted his stare to further preach whatever point he was getting at. "I wouldn't take this rusty piece of shit to war, and I will not take you to war in your condition." He marched in front of the line, and threw the bayonet into the dirt. "Now thanks to these men and their infractions, every man who has had a weekend pass has lost it."

Sobel finally turned his attention to the two women, who had both grown stiff from listening to their CO. He held out his hand and sighed in agitation. A short blonde-haired soldier broke from the line and ran up to Sobel like an eager puppy, handing him a clipboard.

"You two must be the women who have been newly appointed to my company." Sobel stated with little enthusiasm.

 _The Lieutenant Colonel must've had to really twist Sobel's arm to get him to comply with Emilia and me joining the ranks_ , Marie thought.

"Yes, sir!" Marie and Emilia shouted together. Marie could feel her heart hammering unpleasantly in her chest, wondering what Sobel was going to find wrong with them in their appearance.

"Incredible, I spend a month trying to shape these men into the best fit company in the United States Army, and now they send me two women to unravel all my hard work." Sobel clipped, shaking his head as if it was the most damned thing he'd ever heard of.

Anger boiled in the pit of Marie's stomach. She had been warned about this type of mindset before she'd enlisted, but nothing could prepare her for having first-hand experience. Marie could feel Emilia seething beside her as well, but the two women stared straight ahead, like the obedient soldiers that they were to become.

"Uncle Sam just loves to screw me over, I tell ya. Oh well, I'll accept the challenge and shape the two of you up, or break you until you're crawling on your hands and knees, begging to go back to the beauty parlor. We'll see if the two of you are cut out to be paratroopers." Sobel's dark eyes glared back and forth between the two of them, as if expecting one of them to flinch.

"Sir!" Marie and Emilia responded in unison again.

 _Well, I enjoy a challenge, too, jerk. I'll enjoy proving you wrong_ , Marie thought, furiously. She cursed him over and over again in her head as he went on.

"Valdez, Emilia - Technician Fifth Grade?" Sobel barked, reading off the clipboard.

"Sir!" Emilia shouted again.

"Not just a woman, but a spic too." Sobel mumbled, but not quiet enough to where Emilia couldn't hear. Marie dared a glance at Emilia, only to see her grit her teeth from behind her closed mouth. Some of the men's eyes widened from shock as well; apparently this was a new low for Sobel.

"Docherty, Marie - Technician Third Grade?" Sobel barked again.

"Sir!" Marie piped up. He sneered at Marie in disbelief for a moment, reading over the clipboard again.

"How can a woman already have a rank as high as yours when she's just started?" Sobel looked like he was about to laugh as if it was all some kind of joke.

Her rank wasn't impressively high, she thought, it was only the equivalent to a sergeant. He was making it out to be as if she were a Captain.

"I have this rank because of my experiences and from my education, sir." Marie forced her voice to remain level and not say anything through gritted teeth. She didn't feel as weak and defenseless as she had a moment before, now she felt as if she had already reached her limit with this man.

"Oh?" Sobel questioned. He looked playfully amused by her response.

"I graduated Cum Laude from high school, and I graduated from college with high honors. I got my degree in Nursing, and worked as an RN before enlisting." Marie continued. She was chosen because of her skills and decided to become a combat medic to assist directly in the war efforts. It offended her the way Sobel spoke to her, and she was not a braggart by any means.

Emilia shot her a warning glance through her peripherals. She was afraid Marie would get in trouble because of her tone. The men from Easy looked at Marie, worrying that Sobel would punish her, too. Sobel instead lowered the clipboard and turned away from them to shout an order.

"We're running, Currahee! Get in your PT gear!" Sobel yelled and marched off.

Emilia grinned at Marie, despite being called such a horrible derogatory term moments before. She seemed impressed with Marie's sudden gall, and Marie couldn't help but smile back.

A redheaded man with light cyan eyes approached. Marie studied his oddly arched brows, and freckles that littered his face. His eyes were kind with a soft disposition that made Marie instantly feel at ease. He smiled at the two women, as Emilia snapped a salute. Marie noticed the silver bar pinned to his uniform lapel and did the same.

"Ladies." The lieutenant greeted. "I am 2nd Lieutenant Richard Winters. Welcome to Easy Company. 1st Lieutenant Sobel was supposed to give you a briefing on today's activities, but as you can see he's busy at the moment." Winters smiled thinly, telling the two women: _Sobel's in a bad mood, so he doesn't want to talk_.

"What's Currahee?" Marie asked, cocking her head.

Winter's laughed bitterly, not at them, but at the anticipation of running whatever Currahee was. "You'll find out soon enough, ma'am." Winter's gave them a weary smile. "Return to your barracks and dress out into your PT gear, and meet us over there." Winters pointed behind him, past the last row of barracks. All Marie could see was a forest. "I suggest you move quickly." He nodded to them and ran off to join the other men.

None of the other men wasted any time after the order was given, except for one who had his eyes pinned on Emilia. His tanned skin and baby blue eyes made Marie think "jock". It didn't surprise Marie in the slightest; Emilia was a woman who could easily give Rita Hayworth a run for her money. The soldier was called to get moving, and he complied with some hesitance. Emilia was too busy slinging an arm around Marie and leading Marie back to their barracks to notice.

"That was the boldest thing I've ever seen you do! Granted I've only known you for a day, but I did not expect that out of you!" Emilia smiled at her like a doting sister. Thinking about Sobel and what he had called her made her become cross. " _Estúpido_."

"Couldn't you court martial him for slander?"

Emilia scoffed. "If I go complaining to Sink now, I'm sure he'll kick me out before I stir up a ruckus."

The two women entered their barracks again. Marie was thankful to see that the other women had left. She wasn't in the mood to deal with Florence's prying. The two women quickly removed the plastic covering from their freshly pressed uniforms. The white shirt and black shorts felt uncomfortably starchy as she slipped them on, but that wasn't the worst of it. The shorts were extremely short, riding high up her thighs, and the white shirt visibly revealed her bra. Marie felt her face grow hot at the thought of running whatever "Currahee" was, surrounded by hundreds of men in this skimpy excuse for PT clothing. Florence had told her that some of these men haven't seen women in months, and would be like ravenous dogs in heat for "pussy" whenever they got the chance. The statement made her feel like her stomach was tying itself into a pretzel knot.

"Come on, Marie. We don't have time to dilly dally." Emilia barked, already standing at the door.

Marie hesitantly followed, knowing it was better to be on time so Sobel wouldn't chew her up on day one.

**0000**

Three miles up, three miles down.

Marie now understood Winter's reaction to her question. Turns out Currahee was a mountain lying just on the outskirts of Camp Toccoa. Thick forestation covered the beginning of the incline, but a manmade path had been cleared, leaving trees and dirt ahead of them. Currahee was Cherokee for "stand alone", a motto that the 506th eagerly adopted. But Marie didn't care about any of that; the heat was getting to her, and so was her lack of cardio conditioning.

Running Currahee so far was one of the most physically challenging things Marie had ever done in her short life. She rasped for breath as she tried to keep her pace steady along with the rest of the men, who were also jogging and looking worn. Sobel ran beside them, his feet sticking out on the sides like a waddling duck as he shouted out taunts to everyone (he looked more like The Mallard Duck than The Black Swan). He would scream "HI-HO SILVER!" at the top of his lungs as he charged toward his next victim for verbal assault. It was driving Marie insane; she wished that he'd stop shouting that stupid saying altogether and just be silent for the rest of the run. Emilia on the other hand was pumping her legs with ease, taking in controlled breaths, her running form matching an Olympic medalist. By comparison to Marie's sloppy form, reddened face, and ragged breathing, made her look like a complete mess. She started to doubt whether she should even be here at all.

A man with a long face and nose and medium brown hair was running next to Marie had twisted his ankle badly, letting out a sharp grunt in pain as he started to stumble forward. By instinct she caught him under his arm and hoisted him back up, with the help of another man whom had vibrant red hair and faint freckles covering his face. The injured man smiled up to her in thanks, his slanted eyes appeared kind but stressed as he limped to keep up.

"Do not help that man!" Sobel snapped at her and the red-haired man. He jabbed a threatening finger at her as if it were a knife; turning briskly on his boot-heel so he could continue his ridiculous, flailing duck run.

Marie's growing agitation from her fatigue, the sun bearing down on her, and Sobel's stupid pestering finally bubbled up to her limit. As his back was turned, she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Watch it! What if he saw you?" The man that she helped up warned.

"Yeah, Sobel's a man that you don't want to _really_ piss off," the redhead added, the two of them looking as serious as the summer day was long.

"He's so mean, though." Marie mumbled. She knew they were right, but it felt good to outwardly express her distaste for Sobel. Some of the stress from this horrid day started to lift from her weighed down shoulders.

"That he is." The limping man agreed, straining to keep up. He fell down this time, the pain in his ankle too intense to keep going. Marie and the redhead both stopped to help him, as did a few other stragglers from Easy Company. "Dammit! Now I have to go to the damned infirmary!"

"Hey, I'm supposed to be practicing for one of my classroom lectures there later today. Maybe it would be okay if I took you?" Marie offered.

_Anything to get off this terrible mountain._

"If that'll fly with Sobel. Who knows, the man has no empathy." The man replied, grasping his leg gingerly. "By the way, my name is Warren Muck. Call me Skip." He introduced himself through gritted teeth.

"Marie Docherty." She extended her hand. He shook it earnestly but tiredly.

"Donald Malarkey." The redhead greeted, doing the same. "Looks like Luz ran over and told Sobel about Skip's injury. Aw man, he looks like he's about to go batshit."

Marie followed Malarkey's gaze to Sobel, who was standing some meters ahead. The group had stopped running, and now was looking back curiously at them. Sobel stormed over, his sallow face now being replaced with an unpleasant shade of bright red. Marie felt herself tense, readying herself for the lecture of a lifetime.

"I told you not to help that man!" Sobel erupted, towering before Marie's squatted figure as she knelt next to Muck. "All of you disobeyed direct orders!" Sobel eyed each one of them, his glare piercing like steel. "All of you will head back down the mountain and repeat all six miles of the run, do you understand?"

"Sir, if I may-" Malarkey began.

Sobel snapped his heated gaze in his direction, just daring him to speak.

"He's really hurt his ankle, sir, it doesn't look like he'll be able to run. Ms. Docherty here has medical experience and was going to lead him back to the infirmary with my help." Malarkey explained, his large, dark eyes unwavering from Sobel's relentless leer. Marie was impressed by Malarkey's boldness, and his loyalty to his injured friend.

Sobel glanced at each one of them, as if testing if they'd give away what he believed was Malarkey's lie. Marie stole a glance at Emilia, whom stood with the rest of the company, panting with her hands on her hips casually, looking concerned.

"Very well, he better be as injured as you say he is, or all of you will be kicked out of the Airborne before your feet touch the ground. I do NOT tolerate dishonesty in my company." Sobel replied sharply. He sensed the three soldiers' relief, and grinned darkly. "Don't think that this will get you out of PT. You are all expected to finish this run on Currahee."

"Yes, sir." They responded in unison.

Sobel turned back to the rest of the company. They all stared wide-eyed as Malarkey and Marie hoisted Muck up. Sobel's aggression appeared back on his face as his thick brows drew inward, and that bright red shade filled his face once again.

"What are all of you staring at? Keep going, move it!" Sobel bellowed.

The company scurried around in an unorthodox fashion, nearly tripped over each other to avoid the wrath of Sobel as he started to run at them. Emilia flashed Marie one last uncertain look before turning and continuing her ascent up the mountain.

 _Sorry, Em. We'll catch up later_.

"Damn, Malark, that was gutsy of you." Muck piped up.

"Hey, no friend of mine gets punished for something he can't help."

Muck gave a skeptical laugh. "This is the Army. No one gives a shit what state the soldier is in, as long as he's still breathing."

Marie remained silent, listening to their conversation as they helped Muck down Currahee. Now she was dreading repeating the run; she wasn't sure if her aching feet could stand any more running.

"Oh, and thank you, Docherty." Muck added.

"It's okay, and you can call me Marie."

"So, where are you from, Marie?" Marie felt puzzled by Muck's question. She looked quizzically at him, wondering what he was getting at. Malarkey watched her reaction, saying nothing as Muck continued to ramble on, clearly frazzled from the run and the injury.

"I'm from Tonawanda. That's a place in New York in case you don't know." Muck paused a moment, noticing Marie staring straight ahead as if she was concentrating on something. "You know, you don't talk much, Marie."

"Huh? Oh sorry." She replied, meekly, feeling foolish for being so aloof. Bonds were important, especially when it comes time for battle, but Sink's warning about fraternizing repeated in her mind as clear as a bell.

"Sorry if you thought I was prying, it's just not every day that a woman gets accepted to the front. We're just curious about you is all." Muck continued.

Malarkey rolled his eyes. "Don't creep her out, Skip."

"I'm not!"

"Anyway, since we're introducing ourselves a little more, I'm from Astoria, Oregon."

Marie smiled, feeling her barrier drop a little bit. She figured opening up to these men couldn't be too bad.

"I'm from Georgia, only an hour's drive from here." Marie said. "Not far away, so this opportunity seemed like a given."

All three of them talked all the way to the infirmary. For the first time since arriving, and after meeting Emilia, she felt as if she met some people she could actually be friends with. They weren't exactly going to be brothers in arms, but having friends in her company seemed like something that would be a positive experience for her down the line. After Muck was taken care of, Malarkey and she returned to Currahee with heavy reluctance to rerun the entire trail. This time it seemed easier, she wasn't sure if it was because the sun wasn't as high, or if was the company she was with.

Either way, she decided not to question it too much.

**0000**

Marie entered the barracks, sweaty and already on the verge of sleep, to find the other women settled in their beds, only Barb and Emilia were asleep. She gingerly pulled off her boot from her swollen, aching feet. Her laces had been tied too tight and had constricted her foot for the entire run. She massaged her feet, grimacing at the tenderness of her overworked muscles. Her whole body was so fatigued that she could feel it start to practically droop with lethargy. She was sure she'd collapse into sleep soon, as Emilia had already done.

She was eager to tuck herself under her covers, not caring if the material was a little scratchy and the mattress thin. She took down her ponytail, letting her sweaty hair fall down to her shoulders. She scratched her scalp, feeling the sweat stick to her head and make it itch. Her hair was stringy and greasy, but it was past curfew for her to go take a shower, and the women had strict guidelines as to when they were allowed to clean up.

Florence flipped through a magazine, looking surprisingly blasé despite being one of a few selected women on a military base.

"What took ya so long, Docherty?" Florence asked. Her tone sounded just as bored as she looked.

"I ran Currahee, twice." Marie replied tiredly.

Florence made a sound of disinterest, shrugging her shoulders slightly. Marie wondered why she even asked her questions if she didn't care about the answers. The only thing Florence seemed eager to converse about was gossip. The woman practically fed off of it. Marie had an inkling that Florence was trying to spark up a topic that would eventually lead to what she really wanted to know.

"That's funny, Emilia got back from PT training hours before you did." Florence added.

Marie took off her other boot, gritting her teeth as the deep pain spread throughout the bottom of her foot. "I had to run it again because I got in trouble with Sobel for helping an injured man out."

Florence shifted on her bed, placing the magazine down in her lap. The mention of a "man" had piqued her interest.

_That's what she wanted to hear._

"So, you met a guy, hm?" Florence's boredom disappeared; she'd perked up and now was into talking about whatever Marie had to say.

Marie fought the urge to roll her eyes. "I just talked to two of the men from my company. He hurt his ankle, I'm a nurse so I helped him. Nothing special."

Florence was clearly disappointed. She leaned back into her bed. "Well, I think Jane may have met somebody. She came waltzing in, grinning ear to ear as if she'd won the sweepstakes or something."

Jane turned over in her bed, eyeing Florence with playful contempt. "And you'll never know what's making me so happy. Quit being so nosy, Flo."

Florence clucked her tongue in reply, making Marie inwardly cringe at the snootiness of the whole situation. Florence looked back at Marie, giving her poufy hair an elegant toss over her shoulder. How this woman was selected to be war material, Marie had no idea.

"I'm sure she met a guy in her company. Why else would she be so happy to be living in this hell hole?" Florence whispered.

"Well, all of us did volunteer to be here, Florence." Marie responded flatly. She'd heard enough. Marie nestled herself comfortably in her bed and turned her back to Florence.

"I'm just saying we're young and we should have as much fun as we can. But we also need to be careful. Sink isn't playin' around when it comes to the fraternization," Florence concluded with a dramatic sigh.

Marie wasn't paying attention to Florence's rambling, she was already drifting off to sleep before the Jersey girl could get another word in.

**0000**

In the weeks following Marie's introduction to running Currahee, the physical training was scheduled each day, mainly in the morning, or by Sobel's good grace. The CO had a habit of swooping in and calling for an unscheduled PT when the company wasn't expecting it. The physical training had strengthened Marie down to her bones, and part of her was afraid she wouldn't be able to handle much more of it.

Push-ups were a struggle, she could feel her biceps and wrists start to rattle as she did her best to push herself upward, fighting off the gravity of her own weight bearing down on her. Keeping her head and pelvis even without dipping too far down was a real struggle for her - one Sobel was all too keen to point out whenever he could. Marie would have her fingernails digging in the dirt in exasperation when Sobel would stalk by, standing over her, casting a brooding shadow as she tried her best to breathe.

"Just ten more push-ups, Docherty. Is that too much for a woman to handle? If I had my way, you'd have been sent packing after you failed to run Currahee." Sobel mocked, his voice filled with delight at seeing her reach her limit of exertion.

"Sir." Marie managed to choke out, lowering herself back toward the dirt of Toccoa; her arms shaking violently to keep her stomach from touching the ground. Her muscles screamed for relief, but she didn't let up. If she gave up now, she would be proving Sobel right, and as much as she hated the PT, she _wanted_ to be here.

The running, obstacle courses, crawling through barbed wire (nicely decorated with pig intestines and other guts), were just as difficult as the push-ups, all leading up to the inevitable which was running Currahee. Currahee was like the cherry on top, the peak with the stone monument on top looming in the distance as a reminder that there was no rest for a paratrooper. With the taste of dry dirt in her mouth, Marie kept up the best she could. She'd stumbled plenty of times, giving herself a nice amount of scrapes and bruises, but skinned knees and palms were easy to manage. Jumping jacks made her breasts sore, and the running was taking a toll on her feet, but she still pushed herself with what little perseverance she had left to make it to all her classroom lectures. The classroom lectures were informative, but boring. Marie had graduated college and was already a nurse, so everything that was being taught she already knew. The classrooms at Toccoa were lined up like regular grade school classes: rows of desks, pencils, and a large set of three chalkboards at the front. Local doctors would come in with their long white coats and babble on about anatomy, vitals, and how to control bleeding. Despite the redundancy, Marie took notes and paid attention like an apt student.

Treating a soldier out in the field, in the middle of enemy fire, would be very different than doing so within the walls of a hospital, with all the right tools.

Marie only recognized one person from her company while attending the lectures. A man, also training to be a medic, always sat more toward the front of the class. His black, spikey hair protruding in different directions. His soft grey eyes were attentive to the doctor giving the lectures, though he barely spoke when the doctor asked for class participation. She'd only heard him speak once, noting his thick Cajun accent, but other than that she didn't know the guy from Adam.

She wanted desperately to make more friends with the men in the company, but most kept their distance from her or Emilia. They received the same warning from Sink about fraternizing, so most were afraid to even mumble a word to the women that had joined their company. Others were still having trouble warming up to the idea of women being welcomed to the front, they thought it "unnatural" as Sobel had repeated to them several times.

The only male friends she had made were Malarkey and Muck. At the cafeteria, Emilia and she would sit with them, and chat freely. It was nice to have something else to talk about other than the regulations of the Army. The four of them sat together at the set of long cafeteria tables, having to lean in and talk loud in order to be heard in the busy mess hall. Today was mystery meat with a side of paled mashed potatoes. Marie picked at her food, trying her best to get some of the food in her stomach to avoid hunger pains, though the quality of food was what prisoners were fed. She'd expected to find a maggot wriggling around in her food as she poked at it with her fork.

Muck was going on and on about his girlfriend back home, Faye. Whenever he spoke about the woman, his eyes lit up and practically glowed with admiration. Malarkey had mentioned his girlfriend, Bernice, from time to time, but had trouble getting a word in when Muck got his gums flapping. Emilia had laughed at something witty Muck had said, pulling Marie back into the present. She had lost herself, staring into her mashed potatoes.

"Do you have a boyfriend, or someone special back home, if you don't mind my asking?" Muck asked, his slanted, amber eyes peeled on her.

"No, not right now," Marie answered as she shook her head. Being in a relationship really didn't interest Marie at this point in her life. She had just turned twenty-one and she knew she had plenty of time to deal with those kinds of things later in life. Right now she had to focus on becoming a paratrooper, and she was hanging on a thread as it was.

Malarkey gave her a small grin, his dimples plainly showing on his face. Muck nodded his head in understanding. Marie hoped they wouldn't think her strange for not pursuing a man. She was already perceived as odd by the other girls in the barracks, especially Florence, but Emilia and she seemed to get along.

"Marie's really good at scaring off guys rather than attracting them," Emilia informed the boys, giving Marie a playful nudge with her shoulder. Marie shot her an annoyed look but couldn't help smiling herself. Their conversation was cut short when Sobel suddenly burst into the mess hall, causing everyone to stop eating and stand up at attention. The clatter of boots and clanging silverware echoed across the room, soon replaced by absolute silence.

"At ease." Sobel ordered, and the room relaxed, the whole company looking their CO in the eye. "I'm only here for the women." Sobel peered over at Marie and Emilia's direction with an irritated scowl and motioned them over. The girls exchanged glances with each other and with Malarkey and Muck before heading over to Sobel.

Marie felt her stomach drop, fearing this would be the moment she was kicked out of the Airborne. It puzzled her because Emilia was excelling in the training.

"Sir." Both women said as the stood in front of Sobel waiting for more orders.

"Lieutenant Colonel Sink needs to speak with the both of you. Get going." He motioned them out impatiently, with a flick of his hand. Both girls said yes sir, and then rushed out to go talk to Sink.

The two women trudged across Camp Toccoa in nervous silence as they headed toward Sink's office. It felt like it took an hour to make it to Sink's office, even as Emilia twisted the doorknob to enter time seemed to slow down.

Sink was sitting in his office, reading over reports and sipping coffee out of a white mug, stained at the rim. He saw them enter and stand at attention and stood up to greet them. Marie readied herself for bad news, knowing Sobel hadn't stopped his puling about women being a part of his company since they first arrived. Perhaps Sink had finally listened to his whining and just wanted him to shut up.

"At ease, ladies. It's very nice to see both of you." Sink extended his hand with a smile. Marie and Emilia hesitated before they shook his hand, confused by his sudden drop in formalities. They shook his hand quickly, and then waited for him to continue. "I presume your training is going well?"

"Yes, sir," they both replied automatically.

"Sergeant Docherty, your combat medic classes seem to be going well, all good marks so far." Sink pulled up some papers and quickly glanced through them without paying much attention to the details in the print. "Same for you, Private Valdez, your training as an interpreter seems exceptional." Sink beamed again, and Marie waited for him to add: ' _but Sobel mentioned that your physical training hasn't been up to par, so I'm afraid you'll have to be discharged from the Airborne, Sergeant Docherty_.'

"You two are great additions to the Army and will prove to be great role models for young girls who wish to serve in America's great and powerful military." Sink praised with a smile. Marie wasn't sure why Sink was saying all this to them, but she felt very flattered. This was not what the two concerned women were expecting at all.

"Thank you, sir," they said in unison again.

"All right, I just wanted to check up on you ladies. Now get back out there and get to work." Sink dismissed them.

They saluted uncertainly and left the office, feeling just as confused as ever.

"What on Earth was that about?" Marie asked Emilia, confused why the man in command of their regiment would call them all the way to his office just to praise them. "

Well you know Lieutenant Colonel Sink was all for letting qualified women serve in the frontlines and be part of the 101st." Emilia reminded her puzzled friend. "He did help pick out us and the other girls from a pack of hopefuls."

Marie pondered this for a moment and knew she was right. They were handpicked from the litter, which was a great honor, but also meant that they would have to work extra hard not to disappoint Sink.

"That explains why Sobel must have been unhappy to see us. Sobel must have complained about having women on his company and Sink shot him down." Marie suggested. Emilia nodded in agreement.

"Whatever happened, it's nice to know that Sink has our back at least," Emilia concluded. They returned to the mess hall to finish what was left of their meal.

**0000**

Every Friday night, Easy Company dressed up in their Class B uniforms and marched twelve miles in formation, under the moonlight. Sweat stuck to their uniforms as the dense Georgia air clung to their bodies. It was tedious work, and seemed useless to accomplishing anything other than making the company despise Sobel more. Easy Company was the only company ordered to march, and one of the only companies pushed to do PT most would deem insane, and even downright cruel. But Marie didn't complain, she kept her mouth shut and took her licks like an acquiescent solider should. Knowing that the march was the last thing to do before lights out gave her something to look forward to. The march would often put her mind at ease, and it gave her time to process her own evaluation of her progress. It also gave Marie time to familiarize herself with the men better and start to memorize their names, even if they still kept their distance. Some started to slowly begin to speak to her, but kept a safe distance like someone saying hello to a passerby in the street.

After one Friday march, Marie and Emilia trekked back to their barracks. They had long since memorized how to find their way to their barracks in the dark, a skill Marie was thankful to possess. The two women were drunk on endorphins from a day's worth of exercise, giggling as if everything on the planet could be formed into something amusing. They entered the barracks, still cheery until they saw Jane.

Jane was crying, packing her belongings in a disoriented state as Diana tried to console her. Jane shook her head, causing her honey-brown hair to become tousled. Marie and Emilia stood in the entrance, mute from shock.

"What's going on?" Emilia asked, alarmed.

"They're kicking Jane out." Barbara told Emilia, her tone sad but stony.

"What? Why?" Marie gasped.

"They… caught me… but…" Jane tried to tell Marie, but she was weeping too heavily for her words to be fully audible. Diana pulled her into a hug, and the crying woman collapsed in her friend's embrace.

"They found out she was fraternizing with one of the men in her company." Diana informed them.

Diana articulated everything she knew and could understand from what Jane told her in rampant exhaustion and tear-filled misery. When the distressed women realized there was nothing they could do to change Jane's outcome, they all went to bed with heavy hearts, unsatisfied and restless.

Marie laid in her bed that night unable to sleep no matter what position she shifted to. She listened to Jane cry softly into her pillow. Her heart went out to the poor girl, although she knew fraternizing was a serious offense, as Sink had warned all of them individually. They were all warned against starting romantic relationships with any of the soldiers and officers in the Army, they stressed that above everything else. But love would always find a way, and this time it had spoiled any chances of Jane becoming a paratrooper. She was going to be discharged from the military for this. Finally Marie fell asleep, but even when she awoke, she felt empty and unwell for the rest of the day. Of course Sobel surprised Easy Company with a run on Currahee after they ate a hefty amount of pasta.

Marie's mind buzzed from fatigue, dizziness, and Jane's premature departure. Jane had hugged her goodbye in the morning, and through her cries she promised she would write Marie. The whole situation seemed like one big foul up, especially since the man who was also involved with Jane didn't receive any sort of punishment. The more Marie pondered the bitter subject, the sicker she felt.

Marie started to slow down her pace from the rest of the company, breaking out of the group of soldiers-in-training. She bent over, grasping her knees with her sweaty palms. She panted, feeling her stomach churn wildly. She closed her eyes and started to retch, knowing with mounting dread what was going to come next. She started to vomit, tasting the unpleasant sourness of spaghetti noodles and stomach acid. The nausea didn't cease, she still felt as if she was floating in a state of sickness as she emptied her stomach once again on the dirt path of Currahee.

"You're a wash-out, Docherty! Go back to the beauty parlor!" Sobel barked in a venomous tone.

Marie still had her eyes squeezed shut, so she was unable to see the thunderous look on his face. She wiped her mouth, feeling dirty and out of breath. She was upset with herself, after a few weeks of the most intense physical conditioning she'd ever experienced, she hoped she'd start to see results, but even a full stomach couldn't stand the dreaded run up the godforsaken mountain.

"You better come back over here and join the rest of the company, or I'll just have to send the Lieutenant Colonel a report about your failure to complete this task." Sobel added, rubbing salt into Marie's already burning wound.

Marie stumbled forward, muttering a 'yes, sir', her stomach and head feeling as empty as ever. Sobel's insults had started to get to her. She wasn't sure how much more she could take. She had set a goal for herself, but the longer the summer days dragged on, the more she felt like turning in her uniform and heading home.

But there was one thing that always kept Marie from quitting, and that was the fear of failure. This was a fear that haunted her more than any other, and motivated her more than hope or faith.


	3. The March to Atlanta

**Chapter 2: The March to Atlanta**

November 1942

"Wake up," a voice hissed in Marie's ear, urging her to open her eyes.

With a groan of reluctance Marie opened her eyes slowly, only to be greeted my Emilia. She gave Marie a shove on the shoulder, still trying to rouse her from slumber. It was still dark out, and Marie could tell that it was early than usual to be woken up. She usually felt well rested enough, but not this time.

"Sink called for a meeting, we need to get in formation outside. Get dressed, c'mon," Emilia added, her impatience ringing in her tone.

Marie sat up quickly, feeling her head spin as she swung her feet over the side. After three long, strenuous months she expected to be used to unexpected wake up calls. But this wasn't Sobel crowing like a rooster, it was Sink. That set off an alarm in her head and lit a fire under her ass for her to hustle. As the two women finished getting dressed and rushing outside, they noticed some straggles from Easy Company hurrying to where they were supposed to meet. The men also appeared groggy from the rude awakening.

The air felt chilly enough to cut sharp into Marie's skin. She crossed her arms, hoping to bundle a little bit of warmth from her Class A uniform. The sky was so dark it hid the morning sun that was struggling to rise in the east. Even the ground of Toccoa was covered by thick dew that had started to freeze over. Easy Company stood outside under the dimly overcast sky, waiting to hear why they were summoned before the crack of dawn. Sink came strolling toward them, Sobel at his side. Sink gave the company of curious soldiers a carefree wave. He was carrying a magazine in his hand, only adding to everyone's confusion.

"Good morning Easy Company," Sink greeted.

"Good morning, sir," they all answered in unison.

Sink went right into detail with his plan, and what he had proposed shocked the company. Everyone thought Sobel had come up with every way to shape Easy Company into the best company in the Army, but this time it would be Sink who would outdo Sobel in grueling tasks.

Sink held up the magazine, even though it was too dark to see the pictures or read the print, he explained what the main story was about. The Japanese Army had set a world record by marching one-hundred miles in only seventy-two hours. Sink being the patriotic son-of-a-bitch that he was decided he wanted to beat that record. The older man ordered the 2nd Battalion to march from Camp Toccoa all the way to Atlanta. That was about one-hundred and eighteen miles. Sink was so determined that they could do it and fueled by the passion of success to notice the displeased expressions on the company's faces. To make the order even more challenging, Sink also added that the march must be done while carrying full field equipment.

After Sink said goodbye and left the shocked Company in Sobel's "capable" hands. The Black Swan wasted no time in ordered the Company to grab their gear and meet back in formation. Sink was not what Marie would describe as a cynical man, but this task had really got her mind reeling with doubt about his true character.

"This doesn't seem very fair for the men who are carrying sixty pounds of weight on their backs," Marie said to Emilia as the women made their way back to their barracks.

"Just be thankful that we don't have too much supplies to carry," Emilia sighed.

**0000**

At the entrance of Camp Toccoa, Easy Company was assembled into formation. Shortly after the march began and the stopwatch started ticking. Marie marched beside Malarkey, glad to have been paired with a friend. She felt small being in the middle of the sea of soldiers, totaling over one-hundred. As they marched Marie felt at ease, realizing that the overcast sky, cold air, and company she had made this easy. She had been given harder orders, that was for sure.

"You know, this isn't so bad," Marie said to Malarkey, keeping her voice low from Sobel, who was prowling around the Company. He ordered for quiet to help concentration, so everyone had to speak in whispers.

"It's only the first day, Marie. We haven't covered that many miles yet," Malarkey informed her with a bitter laugh.

He was right. They had only marched forty-five miles. Soon after it started to drizzle, making the temperature drop even lower. But Marie preferred the chilly November atmosphere to the unbearable heat of August. The first day felt like an accomplishment to Marie. As Easy Company pitched tents and readied themselves for rest, they all felt like tomorrow would also be a cinch. They faced day two with optimism, but their good moods soon faded. The overcast clouds brought hail and sleet. The hail pounded against Easy Company's helmets, and the sleet made their boots slide against the roads. The atmosphere had become dreary as the mood soon grew sullen.

Marie started feeling the deep burning ache in her leg muscles from walking such a far distance. She kept pushing herself, but the uncomfortable twinge and burning sensation made her gait stiff and slower.

"Why did I think this was going to be simple?" Marie groaned, angry at her ignorance from the day before.

Malarkey strained a chuckle. "I know, this mortar isn't helping," he pointed at the equipment he carried on his back with his thumb.

Seeing the sixty-five-pound weapon being suspended on her friend's back made her feel guilty.

"I shouldn't be complaining, I'm barely carrying anything," she replied apologetically, glancing down at her medical bag that was draped around her shoulder.

"Don't worry about it, we're building character."

"Are you as thirsty as I am?" Marie asked, licking her chapped lips. Her throat and tongue had started to become bone-dry.

After another hour of marching, the Battalion took a much-needed break around noon. Marie and Malarkey found Emilia and Muck. They all sat on the side of the path together, moaning from exasperation and cramping muscles.

"Remind me to thank Sobel for escorting us on this fine march," Emilia chimed, her voice practically dripping with sarcasm. She cast Sobel a relentless glare as the CO spoke with his lackey William Evans in the distance. He eyed the Company with suspicion, as if he was in charge of patrolling a set of prisoners.

"Christ, what I wouldn't give for some water," Muck mumbled, massaging his thighs.

"Same," Emilia agreed with a sigh.

The group sat across from a farmhouse on the rural road. There was a woman coming in and out, watching the soldiers as they all rested across from her property. Her curiosity was well warranted, it's not every day an entire battalion of soldiers sits in the middle of a road by one's house. After a few minutes the woman came back, this time walking up to the fence, waving at them.

"Do you folks want some water?" She called, her Georgian accent thick and clear.

The four friends exchanged looks. It was a tempting offer, but water had been forbidden by Sobel at the moment. Bill Guarnere, a brash Philly with the square, firm jaw was sitting nearby, also considering the woman's offer. He was squad leader, and knew he couldn't break protocol with Sobel lurking so close by.

Malarkey stood up abruptly, "I'm going for it," he announced to Guarnere. Guarnere only shrugged in response.

Muck handed Malarkey his canteen, grinning from ear-to-ear in amusement at his friend's boldness.

"Don, that's not a good idea," Marie warned.

"Give me your canteen," Malarkey extended his hand.

"No, you're going to get in trouble!"

Malarkey looked up and scanned for any officers nearby. "I don't see Sobel, and Winters is way up toward the front," he observed. He reached his hand out again for her canteen, but Marie continued to refuse. Emilia handed Malarkey her canteen, giving Marie a nudge to give in. "Fine, you can drink from mine," Malarkey said before he jogged across the road.

Marie watched as the woman filled the three canteens with ice cold water from a large pitcher, gleaming with ice and condensation. Marie saw Sobel break away from Evans and was starting to make his way down toward them. Her heart somersaulted in her chest as their CO announced their rest was over. She tried to wave at Malarkey to get his attention, but he didn't notice her.

Sobel's dark, hawk-like eyes spotted Malarkey getting canteens filled with water, and was instantly infuriated. Luckily for Malarkey Sobel was still at enough distance for him not to notice _who_ was disobeying orders.

"I want that man's name!" Sobel shouted, pointing at Malarkey. Sobel started to angrily march toward Malarkey, but Malarkey had taken his canteens and scurried into the mob of marching soldiers. He was well hidden amongst all the matching olive drab.

Malarkey expertly maneuvered his way around the other soldiers and ran over to join his waiting friends. He handed Muck and Emilia their canteens, smiling despite his close call with trouble. Muck laughed, drinking gratefully. He clapped his friend on the back. Emilia also drank, joining into the nervous and amused laughter.

"That was too close!" Marie exclaimed, her hand resting over her heart.

Malarkey only grinned triumphantly at her, handing her his canteen. She didn't want to take a drink because of her stubbornness, but her need for water overcame her feelings of disapproval. She took a few big gulps. The cold water felt wonderful on her dry throat.

**0000**

The last day of marching was by far the worst for Easy Company. Marie's legs now felt like they were on fire, but Malarkey's pain was even more severe. He struggled to walk alongside her as they neared their destination. She told him they were almost to Oglethorpe University, but any words of encouragement didn't help him. The Battalion took another break, pitching up tents again to protect against the cold elements. Both Marie and Malarkey collapsed inside one of the tents, both their legs shaking rapidly from being overworked.

"We're so close…" Marie said, her voice coming out in a groan. She didn't want to say anything negative, even though it felt like she'd never walk again.

"Chow time!" Someone called outside the tent. Food was being served all the way across the resting area in the small forest Easy Company was camping in. Malarkey couldn't even bring himself to stand up again, so he started to crawl on his hands and knees out of the tent. Worried, Marie followed stiffly behind.

"Are you okay?" Marie asked him, Malarkey only grunted in pain as an answer.

Muck walked up to his struggling friend, balancing a few trays of food in his hands. "No friend of mine crawls anywhere," he told Malarkey. He handed Malarkey and Marie their mess kits, filled with food.

"Thank you so much, Skip," Marie thanked.

"Of course."

Between mouthfuls of food, Malarkey still looked grim. "My shins are killin' me. I don't know if I can make it," Malarkey admitted, rubbing his legs gingerly.

"Almost there, buddy, only thirty-eight more miles," Muck answered.

" _Only_ thirty-eight?" Malarkey moaned, Marie joined him.

"Eighty down. You can do this, Malark," Muck encouraged. "We can do this."

"I dunno, Skip," Malarkey sighed.

"I'll get you to Atlanta if I have to drag you."

Back in the privacy of the tent, Marie examined Malarkey's legs. She rolled up his pant legs, being careful not to pull too hard. His legs under his knees were severely swollen. His skin was so red and irritated that Marie didn't even want to touch his legs.

"I think you have tibial stress syndrome," Marie told him, still studying his inflamed shins.

"What's that?"

"Shin splints. This is serious, it could cause fractures in the lower parts of your legs if left untreated. You really need to take a good, long rest." She gave him a pitied look.

Lieutenant Winters entered the tent, ducking his head as he moved the flaps to come inside. Winters had observed Malarkey's struggle from afar, and knew something was wrong. He noticed Malarkey's swollen legs as he came inside.

"Why don't you plan on going the rest of the way in a rig, Malarkey?" Winters suggested, his voice calm.

Marie nodded her head in agreement.

"Sir, give me a night's rest," Malarkey begged, glancing over at Marie for support. "I think I can make it."

Marie swallowed down a lecture, knowing Malarkey was in no condition to keep walking, but his drive to continue was admirable.

Winters didn't seem convinced, but he sighed in defeat. "Whatever you think."

**0000**

At last Easy Company had reached Atlanta with the record-breaking distance and time of one-hundred and eighteen miles in seventy-five hours. Easy Company was greeted by busy streets of cheering people and radio news networks, reporting their amazing feat across the United States. There was a marching band playing upbeat music on the sidelines, raising the tired Company's spirits.

Marie had her arm draped across Malarkey's shoulder, helping him walk. The optimistic mood even made Malarkey smile, despite him being in a lot of pain. When the celebration was over, Marie and Malarkey climbed aboard a rig and drove all the way back to Camp Toccoa. When they returned, Marie took him to the infirmary at once.

Malarkey's bad case of shin splints landed him in the infirmary for three days. Marie applied ice to his legs, elevated them, and gave him anti-inflammatory pills like clockwork. But Marie was proud of her friend's perseverance.

"You're fortunate, your legs will make a full recovery. No fractures or torn muscles," Marie told him as she switched out his ice.

"Thank God, I don't know how much more bed rest I can handle," Malarkey responded. He had grown restless being cooped up inside for three days. "I hope the Japanese don't pull any more record breaking stunts like that that," he added.

Marie laughed, "agreed."


	4. Parachutes

**Chapter 3: Parachutes**

_Fort Benning, Georgia_

_December 1942-February 1943:_

In December the 506th said goodbye to Camp Toccoa, a home they had all come to loathe and love. Fort Benning was the destination for advancement in their training, but entering the base felt like a step back rather than a step forward. The atmosphere was tense, and the soldiers already stationed at Benning had no fond words for Easy Company. The only element kept the same was all the women sharing barracks again. Marie was thankful for at least one familiar thing as she attempted to settle down in their new temporary home.

Barbara sat on her bed, putting her shoes on while Diana watched Florence put on a massive amount of make up (despite it being contraband). Diana marveled at her friend as she tried to convince her that there was no point, and that it was technically not allowed, but Florence didn't care. Marie and Emilia sat on their beds, attempting to write letters home. Marie promised she'd write their friend Jane, but she honestly didn't know what to tell her. It didn't seem right to write about their success while Jane was discharged.

"They didn't exactly roll out the welcome wagon for us, huh?" Barbara said aloud as she continued to tie her laces.

"Can we talk about something else, please? You guys are makin' me feel worse," Florence sighed, inspecting herself in a pocket mirror (another contraband item, there was no room for vanity in the paratroopers apparently, but Florence _made_ room).

"Well, what do you want to talk about then?" Diana asked, rolling her eyes at her friend's vainness.

"How about that newly appointed Lieutenant?" Florence suggested with a sly smile.

Diana and Florence giggled girlishly amongst themselves, as the other women went about their business with disinterest. Marie focused on the letter she was writing, blocking out the distraction.

"You're so lucky, Barb," Diana laughed, nudging her friend. "He's going to be in D Company. It's a shame that he's being sent to Europe early, though. You get less of a chance to get to know him."

Barb replied with a sound of lassitude resonating at the back of her throat.

Marie was getting nowhere with her letter. She put it down, and watched ruefully as Emilia effortlessly wrote paragraphs upon paragraphs. Marie slid off her bed and announced that she was going to the mess hall. She hoped Malarkey and Muck could curb her boredom.

**0000**

The mess hall offered no relief to Marie. The 82nd Airborne paratroopers, who had been stationed at Benning before Easy Company, had filled the quarters with astringent glances and smug criticism. Marie could feel herself being heavily judged as she walked by; their arms crossed, their mouths turned downward in a disapproving sneers. The glares were so intense Marie almost felt violated. She was extremely thankful that Malarkey had spotted her, and signaled her over to join him. She couldn't stand the intense scrutiny on her own much longer. Marie squeezed in between Frank Perconte and George Luz, who were sitting across from Malarkey. Perconte, the short Italian with a scar across his eyebrow (that contrasted with his boyish looks) was talking loudly to Malarkey and whoever would listen. Luz, the Puerto-Rican from Rhode Island with thick black hair, and a sense of humor and wit that could make anyone collapse from laughter, smiled at Perconte's words.

Marie gave Malarkey a small smile, not wanting to verbally interrupt the conversation. Malarkey returned her smile, his eyes drifting back to Perconte. He nodded, letting the Italian know he was still listening. Marie sighed, sitting her elbows on the table and resting her head on her arms. She knew she wasn't going to enjoy being at Fort Benning; not just because of the rude paratroopers, but because of the five upcoming jumps they'd have to do. Marie was actually terribly afraid of heights; ironic, considering that she'd signed up to be in the Airborne.

"What's wrong?" Perconte asked, noticing her sudden uneasiness.

Marie was surprised he'd halted his passionate story, noticing her dread. She felt suddenly very self-conscious with all their eyes on her.

"Uh, nothing," she replied meekly, feeling a hot blush spread across her face.

"Well _something_ is obviously wrong," Luz chimed in.

Marie's eyes were downcast, avoiding their stares. Malarkey's curious expression made her sink back even further in her seat. She felt ridiculous and out of place, but confessing that she was afraid to jump out of planes would only give those against her more ammunition. Easy Company was still adjusting to her and Emilia, and now she was receiving looks of disdain from the paratroopers from Benning.

Carwood Lipton then entered the mess hall. He was gentle but stern when he had to be. The West Virginian, with a slightly premature receding hairline, carried a stack of letters and packages. His small, brown eyes spotted them sitting from across the mess hall. He went over to join them, giving the obnoxious paratroopers a thin, forced smile as he slid past them with haste.

"Hey, Lip. What'cha got there?" Luz asked..

"Mail." Lipton answered, putting the letters down and sorting through them. Marie gave him a small smile. She liked Lipton, he was kind and had a slightly resigned nature about him.

"Malark," Lipton read, handing Malarkey a letter. "George. Hmm, I think I misplaced yours, Frank," Lipton said, furrowing his brow as he looked through the letters and packages.

"Of course you did," Perconte grunted.

"Ah, I got one for you too, Ms. Docherty," Lip said, picking up a package. He slid it over to her.

Marie stared down at the package in surprise. She didn't expect to receive a package, a letter possibly, but not this. She read that it was from Anne, her little sister. The ends of her lips curled into a smile, unable to resist the warmth it brought her to read Anne's name. She opened the package, feeling shy again because the men were all staring at her. The wrapping revealed her lovingly, overused copy of _Jane Eyre._ Being able to physically grasp something familiar made her feel slightly at ease.

"Make sure Sobel doesn't see that, he'll confiscated it," Lipton warned her.

"I'll be careful," Marie answered.

Marie heard the sound of ripping paper and glanced up to see Malarkey opening his letter. He unfolded the letter and began to read, a smile spreading on his face as he immersed himself in the words.

"Hey, is that from that girl of yours?" Luz asked, grinning slyly.

"Yeah, it's from Bernice," Malarkey told him, still smiling.

Marie felt her heart rate quicken as she heard Malarkey talk about his girlfriend. She felt a sudden surge of jealousy and it frightened her. She quickly dismissed these strange feelings and opened her book and buried herself in it. The conversation the men were having revolved around women, whether it be wives, girlfriends, women they _wished_ were girlfriends, the discussion continued on. Marie felt out of place listening to them talk about women. She stood up, catching their attention once again, and held her book tightly against her chest.

"I'm going to explore the base for a bit," she announced quietly.

"Oh, is everything okay?" Malarkey asked, studying her slightly embarrassed expression.

"Yes, I'm fine."

"If you run into Skip, can you give this to him," Lipton asked, holding out another letter.

Marie nodded and took it quickly from his hands, then turned to scurry out of the mess hall. It suddenly felt far too cramped and crowded for her tastes. As she was blindly making her way toward the exit, she ran right into another soldier. The force caused both of them to stumble backward. Marie's face went scarlet in mortification as she caught her bearings. She looked up to see David Webster, the Fox Company soldier who volunteered for the paratroopers while he was studying at Harvard.

"I'm so sorry," Marie stammered.

"That's quite alright," Webster replied. His sharp blue eyes drifted down to her book, and lit up as he read the title. "You're a fan of the Brontë sisters?"

Marie was taken aback from his question. No man outside of Easy Company had ever spoken to her. The members of Easy Company hardly even spoke to her. He smiled expectantly, waiting for her to answer. His overwhelming blue eyes and perfect square jaw caught her off guard for a moment as she struggled to form coherent sentences. Before Marie could respond Emilia entered the mess hall. Catcalls and whistles immediately followed as Emilia made her way in. Men always seemed to whoop their approval of her whenever she was around. However, Emilia ignored it with grace as if she couldn't hear them shouting at her.

"Marie they need you in the infirmary," Emilia reported as she approached Marie. Emilia's dark eyes shifted back and forth between Marie and Webster. The smallest hint of a smile tugged at Emilia's lips.

"Excuse me," Marie muttered, relieved to have escaped the mess hall at last.

As the two women walked together Emilia let out a chuckle. Marie turned to her in question.

"Well, well, well." Emilia laughed, raising an eyebrow at her shorter friend.

"What?" Marie questioned defensively.

"You and that handsome soldier," Emilia smiled cunningly.

Marie blushed again, much to her annoyance. "It was nothing, I ran into him, almost knocking the two of us flat on our backs."

Emilia laughed again. "You poor thing!"

"Oh, Em, it was awful. I can't seem to stop embarrassing myself wherever I go."

Emilia caught Marie by the shoulder as they finally made it to the infirmary.

"Don't fret, darling, you'll come into your own," Emilia encouraged the medic softly.

Marie averted her eyes, "I hope you're right."

**0000**

Marie left the infirmary after a long day of rudimentary review. She rubbed her eyes, fatigued as she made her way back. The first day had been surprisingly lax considering, but she knew that Sobel was lurking somewhere in the shadows to pounce on his company. The five jumps were coming up and there was no chance he would slack on the preparation. As Marie entered the mess hall again Sobel suddenly burst into the mess hall. He marched in with his chest swelled, and shoulders back in total arrogance. He had anger clearly etched all over his face. Marie felt herself tense up instantly at his presence, afraid of his dark, blazing eyes to land on her. Everyone stopped talking and laughing all at once, and stood up in attention. Sobel eyed each and every one of them. His eyes fell on Marie, but she wasn't allowed to look him in the eyes, even as her skin crawled from discomfort.

"Easy Company! We start tomorrow at 0500 hours!" Sobel declared.

"Yes, sir!" Every member of East company shouted in unison.

Sobel left the mess hall and everyone exhaled. Marie did the same; she hadn't even noticed she was holding her breath when he had entered.

The following weeks brought stress beyond comprehension. Marie felt herself begin to grow more and more anxious as the first jump quickly approached, knowing the day will grow inevitably closer because of time's awful relativity. Sobel was drilling everyone extra hard to the point of mental deterioration; few of the men were having breakdowns, which only made Sobel become even stricter.

After one of the days of training Marie went and sat down outside to rest a bit. It was nearing Christmas, the bitter cold cut through her skin like a blade. Malarkey sat silently beside her, neither talking for a long while in contemplation.

"We're almost to the fourth step," He announced, licking his chapped lips.

Marie didn't respond, she only listened vaguely in exhaustion.

"One: physical fitness. I think it's fair to say that Easy Company has over-achieved on that."

Malarkey stated. Marie nodded and gave him a "no kidding" look.

"Two: practice jumps, like jumping from the parachute towers and landing techniques," He continued.

Marie sighed; she hated jumping from the tower. Learning to land correctly wasn't as easy as it seemed. Once you hit the ground you have to allow all the weight in your legs to give way so your bones won't break. Instinct was to catch your falling with your hands which could be disastrous.

"Three: Learning to pack chutes and unpack them. And of course learning how to use them," Malarkey went on. "And finally, step four: the five required jumps," Malarkey concluded. "That's all it takes, then it'll all be official."

"Step four sounds like the hardest step," Marie muttered, hugging her knees. She felt queasy thinking about jumping from the planes. The last week at Fort Benning in February, would be when they all had to jump. Once you do that, you earn your wings.

"They do that on purpose. They want to weed out those who aren't cut for it. We've already lost a dozen guys who couldn't do it," Malarkey told her.

"I know," Marie murmured.

"The jumps will prove who has the balls to go through with it," Malarkey said.

Marie gave him a look when he used the term "balls".

"Oh, I mean- ugh, you know," he tried to correct himself. She only laughed and smacked him playfully on the arm.

"I know, it's all good." Marie snickered.

**0000**

Everyone was gathered around for the pep speech that was being given before the first jump. Marie sat next to Emilia, feeling her heart pound rapidly in her chest. She was so nervous as she gave her full attention to the unknown sergeant giving the speech. Everyone huddled outside under a giant awning, sitting on the ground.

"So, do we feel we're ready to be Army paratroopers?" The sergeant shouted, addressing the crowd.

"Yes, Sergeant!" Everyone replied in unison. Marie's throat was too dry to yell as loud as everyone else. She felt drowned out by the jittery energy that was filling the room.

"This'll be the first of five exits from a C-47 aircraft scheduled for today. Upon successful completion of your fifth and final jump, you'll be certified Army paratroopers. There'll be a lot of men and women dropping from the sky today. Hopefully under deployed canopies. Jumping from 1000 feet AGL in sticks of twelve jumpers per aircraft. All you have to do is remember what you were taught, and I guarantee you gravity will do the rest." The Sergeant explained.

1000 feet… Marie's stomach flopped.

Emilia noticed her friend's distress and gripped her hand in comfort. Marie's palms were so sweaty that she tried to pull back from Emilia's hand, but Emilia clenched it tighter, making Marie's already pale hand become white.

"And ladies and gentlemen, rest assured, any refusals in the aircraft or at the door, and I guarantee you, you will be out of the Airborne," the Sergeant added. Everyone fell silent. Marie swallowed her fear and tried to sum up courage. Emilia gave Marie's hand another hard squeeze.

There was no turning back now, it was too late to quit.

The aircraft was so loud Marie could barely hear the jumpmaster when he yelled out the orders. She sat along the steel bench of the C-47, feeling an indescribable combination of euphoria and paranoia. The jumpmaster gave the order to stand up and hook up.

"Check equipment!" He shouted. Marie could faintly hear him. She double-checked everything that she was carrying, and everything the person was carrying who was standing in front of her. Sound off had already started; she could hear the men yelling their numbers as they reached their way up. Marie was the sixth one in line.

"Seven okay!" She heard the man behind her yell; he patted her back so she could carry on with the sound off.

"Six okay!" She yelled as loud as she could manage. She tapped the guy ahead of her but he didn't shout his number. He suddenly panicked and slumped up against the support bar of the aircraft, shivering as if he was cold.. Everyone behind him had to unhook and step around him. After everyone was hooked up again, the sound off continued. Marie saw the light turn green at the door of the aircraft, signaling the all clear for the first jumper. She felt herself break out into a cold sweat. It was time, it was really happening.

"Go, go!" The jumpmaster shouted. He motioned the first jumper out, and it continued down the line. She was so close now. Her stomach churned and she felt like she was going to puke. She swallowed the bile that came up in her throat and continued to walk closer to the exit. Her feet dragged like anchors.

It was finally her turn as she inched her way to the open door, revealing perfect clear sky. She felt herself freeze up but she forced her joints into submission so she wouldn't hesitate when the red light turned green. It flashed green and the jumpmaster practically screamed for her to go. She swallowed deeply, shut her eyes tightly, and then took a flying, desperate leap out of the aircraft.

She realized that she screamed a little as she jumped, but the feeling of free falling didn't last as long as she thought it would. The cover chute was attached to the static line, so it would open on its own after a few seconds of plummeting to the Earth. She remembered what Malarkey had told her to count to four, the canopy would hopefully open. She opened her eyes. It was difficult with the wind gusting on her face, but she managed to see how far up she was and her feet flailing around as the green and brown patch of Fort Benning leveled into view.

After counting to four she felt herself suddenly being hitched upward; a feeling that reminded her of an elevator coming to a complete stop. The canopy had fully opened, as it was supposed to. She looked up and watched as it swayed with the wind peacefully, completely opposite from her fast and potentially deadly plummet to Earth that was happening just a moment ago. She glanced around and to her relief everyone was coming down at the same rate. Marie suddenly started laughing uncontrollably from both nerves and joy. Everything had gone smoothly, she'd done it! She made her first jump. The feeling of floating down actually was more exhilarating than she thought it was going to be. The view of the horizon was stunning and she felt free from the crushing gravity of the world as she glided with the wind. Landing would be another issue, but in the meantime she enjoyed the safe journey down to the ground.

As she neared the ground she prepared herself for the landing. She saw a few of the men struggle with their parachutes; some even landed hard, flopping around and getting tangled by their chutes. They were being pulled along on the ground, wrestling to get it all packed as the wind continued to be caught within the open chute. She gulped, hoping she wouldn't have that problem. She landed with her heels stretched out, feeling a little sharp pain travel up from her ankles and calves, but she remembered to roll off them so it wouldn't hurt (or in the worst case scenario, break any bones). She fell softly to the ground, letting her body fall lightly into the grass to prevent her ankles from absorbing the whole impact. She managed to get a hold of her chute, and roll and pack it without a problem. She looked up at the sky, amazed by the view of dozens of men floating down to the Earth.

She was so happy to see that Emilia, Muck, and Malarkey had all succeeded in their jumps. She found them in the field, and ran to them, her arms open wide for a congratulatory hug. The adrenaline from the jump had made her feel giddy; she felt like she could accomplish anything in her current mood. After all, not many people had successfully jumped out of a plane a thousand feet in the air. But the happy feeling would soon fade when all of them had to attend a dishonorable ceremony a few days later. For everyone who couldn't face the jump, the Army forced him or her to be part of a public "drumming out," as Malarkey called it.

All the companies lined up together to watch all the men who didn't succeed. The atmosphere around them had grown heavy with secondhand embarrassment, Marie could hardly bring herself to watch the entire ceremony. She saw the man that had panicked before her on the plane up on the stage. She reluctantly watched the men get their patches stripped from their uniforms as a sorrowful sounding drum pounded at a continuous and ominous beat. Marie felt sick to her stomach from the public humiliation as she watched the men's belongings being dumped next to them from their barracks.

"I hate this…" Marie whispered to her friends.

"At least they're not totally out of the Army. They're just infantrymen now." Emilia told her. Emilia's face looked tense, Marie knew that she disliked this as much as she did.

"Not the proudest moment in the US military." Malarkey agreed, looking disgusted. "You know they're doing this to make us afraid to chicken out at the other four jumps."

It wasn't morally right, but using pride to keep everyone jumping was very smart. She knew one thing, there was no way that she was going to cower at the jumps now, she wouldn't give Sobel the satisfaction of watching her getting her patches stripped. The first jump had did a lot for her, she was no longer afraid of the other jumps; she was actually ecstatic to get her wings.

**0000**

Marie completed the next two jumps later that week with no problems. There were only two more to go until they could earn their wings. Malarkey had come to her the morning of the third jump looking awfully sick. He had a bad case of laryngitis. Marie's heart went out to him, she feared he'd be too sick to complete the jump, but he assured her that he would be fine. He could barely speak, he had to communicate to her by writing on a scrap piece of paper. She knew he wouldn't be able to do the sound off. She wished him luck by embracing him and they parted ways. He completed his jump regardless.

After the fifth jump was a proud day. The fifth jump for Marie had her smiling and giggling all the way toward the ground. She found out that Emilia, Muck and Malarkey had made this jump, too. They all grinned at each other, laughing, hugging, and dancing for joy. Wings Day was definitely the happiest day since arriving at Fort Benning. The celebration party that night was full of life and plenty of drinking. The best part was that Sobel wasn't present. Marie wasn't a party person, per se, but she did find herself enjoying this one. Just watching how proud the men were made her feel almost blissful. Diana, Barbara, Emilia, and Florence were all dancing with fellow newly appointed paratroopers. Marie couldn't dance to save her life, so she sat on the sidelines and watched, clapping and cheering them along.

"Marie! Here!" Malarkey called over to her. Luz and Toye were with him at a bar, drinking to their hearts content. Marie went over to join them as Luz poured her a drink in a glass, Marie didn't know what kind it was but she didn't ask. Malarkey handed it to her and she sipped from the glass. It burned down her throat, all the way down to her stomach. The bitterness made her face contort with disgust. It was the worst thing she ever tasted in her life.

The three men laughed at her as she quickly slid the vile drink back to Malarkey. Sticking out her tongue in a meaningless effort to get the taste out of her mouth.

"What the hell was that?" Marie coughed.

"Not a fan of liquor I take it?" Toye asked her with a laugh.

Marie shook her head but she couldn't help laughing at herself either. Malarkey drank the rest from her glass in nearly one shot, making her stick out her tongue again in disgust as he downed it.

"ATTENTION!" Sobel's voice suddenly boomed over the party atmosphere. Strayer and Sink were with him. Everyone instantly snapped into attention.

"Well at ease paratroopers," Sink told them. Everyone relaxed, Sink looked pleased so it made everyone feel better. "Good evening, Easy Company."

"Evening, sir!" Everyone exclaimed.

"Now parachute infantry is a brand new concept in American military history, and by God the 506th is gonna forge that brand new concept into victory." He continued.

Everyone hooted in agreement, Marie herself smiled at Sink's words.

"I just wanted you to know that I'm damn proud of each and every one of ya. Now you deserve this party." Sink beamed. Grant brought Sink a drink, he thanked him kindly then continued on. "I want you to have fun and remember our motto: Currahee!"

"Currahee!" Everyone cheered.

The party would last late into the night. Marie left early to go and read _Jane Eyre_ in her barracks where there was peace and quiet. Their next stop would be Camp Mackall in North Carolina. Marie drifted off to sleep while reading her book, dreaming of what everyone's future had in store for them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: David Webster was originally a part of Fox Company until after D-Day


	5. Screw Ups

**Chapter 4: Screw Ups**

_Camp Mackall, North Carolina_

_February-May 1943_

Everyone was in position as they lay on the forest ground, hiding themselves amongst the leaves and mounds. Easy Company had been lying down for so long that they all began to grow anxious, shifting slightly, making the leaves and twigs rustle and crack. Marie was on her belly in a crouched position. She had had grown bored with the stalling, so her focus was now on an earthworm that was burrowing in the dirt beside her. She hoped she wouldn't fall asleep before Sobel gave the order - only he wasn't giving any orders. He looked flustered as he talked to Tipper and pointed at a map and checked his compass. When it came to actually _directing_ the Easy Company in combat drills, Sobel was a regular fish out of water.

Marie glanced over at Emilia, amused by the entire situation, but the expression on Emilia's face told otherwise. She was angry with Sobel's incompetence to lead. Emilia was an excellent tracker, Marie swore she had a compass built into her brain. The misdirection must've been killing her.

"We're so off course," Emilia hissed at Marie. "He led us right into the wrong position! We're going to get negative marks for this! Just you wait."

"Figures," Bull jeered, he was sitting by them.

"I knew he was leading us in circles. He even has a compass and he still gets lost," Emilia uttered under her breath.

"It's all screwed up now, the only thing we can do is wait it out. If we move out we'll be ambushed for sure. That's what Winters said, anyway," Bull added

Marie slid upward to take a better look at what was going on. She could see Sobel talking to Winters, both men looking equally distressed. Sobel must've told Winters something he didn't like because Winters suddenly looked taken aback. Winters pursed his lips in annoyance as he made his way quietly over to the company.

"We're moving out," Winters ordered flatly.

Sitting tight for an ambush was a basic and effective military tactic, yet Sobel was too damned proud to show that he's made a mistake.

"Unbelievable," Emilia groaned.

Everyone stood up begrudgingly to follow Sobel, whom was marching in front of the platoon with a false sense of pride. He had absolutely no guard up as he led them a couple steps into the forest. Suddenly a bunch of men popped out of the ground like sprouting plants; it was one of the enemy teams, holding up their weapons in a firing position. They were well camouflaged.

A solider with a tired and serious face approached Sobel with a clipboard. "Captain, you've just been killed, along with 95% of your company. Your outfit?"

"Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506." Sobel uttered, his voice fading in the realization that he'd majorly fucked up.

Easy Company glared daggers at the back of Sobel's head. If this were real, most of them would be dead. Marie thought about the heaviness of that unspoken statement and she felt her heart grow hardened. This man was going to lead them straight to their graves.

"Leave three wounded men on the ground, and report back to the assembly area," The soldier ordered.

Marie heard Sobel curse under his breath. He snapped his head around and glowered at his company as if it was _their_ fault that this happened. Marie clenched her fists at her sides, then let her hands relax before Sobel spotted her. Sobel hastily picked three men and pointed to them, and then everyone moved out, their shoulders and spirits hanging low. Marie followed Sobel back to the assembly area, reluctantly along with the rest of the company.

**0000**

At this point in time, Easy Company was seriously questioning Sobel's ability to lead Easy into combat. It was rather obvious that he wasn't fit to lead anyone, but the harsh reality was that there was nothing that could be done about it. Morale began to drop drastically amongst the company as the days dragged on. Everyone already felt like they were as good as dead, and they haven't even been shipped to Europe yet. The mood in Camp Mackall had grown stale and cheerless, and made Marie question if she had made the right decision in enlisting. She tried to go on as if everything hadn't changed, but the attitudes of everyone had dramatically shifted for the worst. Even Emilia had grown impatient and quick-tempered, snapping at Marie over things that couldn't be helped. She knew it was because of the past week being with Sobel whom kept messing up, but she wished that it would all pass.

"That SOB's gonna get us killed," Toye announced grimly.

A few of the men, along with Marie, were all sitting outside in a circle, gathered around and talking ill of Sobel. This wasn't unusual. Gossiping and complaining about Sobel was fairly common; conversations like this have been happening since Camp Toccoa.

"I'm thinking it's time we get rid of him," Roy Cobb, a blond-haired, long-nosed man with a terrible attitude, added. There was something dark about his words that made Marie shudder.

"Like some kind of accident," Liebgott mused with a mild smirk.

Marie couldn't believe that she was sitting here listening to soldiers talk about getting rid of their CO. He was better off gone, but dead? And by the hands of his own soldiers? What on Earth was happening to Easy Company?

"You guys shouldn't be talking about this," Marie warned, interjecting into their conversation.

"He's going to get us all killed, including himself," Cobb said to her, "it's the only way to get a new CO. I do NOT want to follow that man into war."

"Me neither," Toye agreed.

Marie couldn't listen to any more of it. She got up and went to find Malarkey and Muck to see what their thoughts were about this. Marie later found out that Malarkey had won a three-day pass to DC for placing first in some weapons competition. Without Malarkey to talk to, and with Emilia being moody, Marie felt dreadfully lonely. Malarkey was her voice of reason, her shoulder to lean on when she needed to, and now when she needed him the most he was absent. Mackall was turning out to be worse than Fort Benning.

The only good news that came from staying at Mackall was that Easy Company had gotten a new Lieutenant. Harry Welsh had joined Easy and everyone instantly loved him. He had curly, light hair that was already receding, a bright smile that showed off a gap between his two front teeth, but that smile was infectious all the same. His jovial and joking nature made him fit in well with the rest of Easy Company.

Marie had gotten latrine duty from Sobel. His recent losses made her a perfect target to vent out his frustrations. Muck had surprised her by volunteering to for the duty along with her. It made her happy that her buddy came to help, he actually made even cleaning toilets enjoyable. She knew that Muck needed the company from missing Malarkey, too. After a few hours of scrubbing the bathrooms until they were spic n' span, Marie returned to her barracks to find Emilia sitting on her bed, trying to concentrate on writing a letter. Emilia bit the eraser of her pencil deep in thought as she peered down at the paper.

"Who you writing to," Marie asked as she walked in, testing the mood of the room, "your many male admirers?"

"Jealous," Emilia asked her, looking at her with a challenging but joking smile. "Ha, no. I'm trying to write Jane, but I have no idea what to say."

"Tell her how idiotic Sobel is being, and how The Black Swan is going to lead us all to our death beds," Marie deadpanned, her voice practically straining to sound lighthearted.

Emilia glanced at her frostily. Marie had struck a nerve even mentioning Sobel. Although it was better if Jane only received good news, they didn't want her to worry about them.

"I'd much rather write to her about you and that man from Fox Company with the interest in books," Emilia stated with a smile, scribbling down something on the paper. At least the atmosphere had shifted a little bit.

"There's nothing going on! I haven't spoken to him since," Marie huffed, flopping herself down on the thin mattress. She lay sprawled over the covers, looking up at the barrack's ceiling. She hadn't even seen that David Webster guy since Easy Company left Fort Benning.

"You're right, you and Malarkey is a much more _obvious_ choice," Emilia replied with an impish grin.

Marie felt her face grow hot but she didn't let Emilia see that.

"I see the way you look at him, I can tell you're-"

"No, I'm not," Marie protested, shooting up from her bed, giving herself an unpleasant head rush. Marie tried to sound as candid as she could but the deep blush on her face made her very unconvincing.

"Uh-huh," Emilia answered sarcastically, still writing on the paper, "you've been moping around here like a sick puppy ever since he left."

"That doesn't mean anything, I'd be sad if you were sent to DC for a few days," Marie retorted, "Besides, he has a girl back in Oregon that he's crazy about. They're high school sweethearts, she's going to be a singer or something."

Emilia raised a skeptical eyebrow at her friend but didn't reply.

"Ha, you know I'm right," Marie smiled triumphantly, laying back down on her bed.

"Looks like the only girl here getting any action is Florence," Emilia proclaimed.

Marie looked over at Emilia, surprised that she said that.

"Oh, dear, don't tell me that you didn't know?"

Marie threw her pillow at Emilia playfully, "it's mean to talk about someone like that when she's not even here."

"Oh please, like you don't do it," Emilia said rolling her eyes.

Marie thought of what Toye, Liebgott, and Cobb were talking about earlier. Her smile faded along with her cheery mood.

"Hey, some of the men were talking about 'getting rid of Sobel' today, Marie informed Emilia.

"I don't blame them. We're doomed if we follow Sobel into war," Emilia answered in disgust, "he doesn't even know what direction to walk in."

"Well, we'll just have to make the best of it somehow," Marie sighed, knowing that her words were trite.

"Even if that means insubordination in the near future," Emilia added. She continued to look down at the letter until she finally brought herself to finish writing to Jane.

Marie wasn't sure what she chose to write to their friend about, but she was sure that Sobel came up in it one way or another.

**0000**

Malarkey had returned and was instantly greeted by Muck and Marie whom were very happy to see him. The conversation she had had with Emilia taunted her in her head, making her fight back another blush in irritation.

"So how was DC," Muck asked.

"It was great, a nice break from Sobel and training that's for sure," Malarkey answered.

"You're so lucky. I would do anything to have been in your place. Beats having latrine duty with this one," Muck said, patting Marie playfully on her shoulder.

"Excuse me, you volunteered," Marie replied putting her hands on her hips, but smiling at him.

Muck chuckled, "But seriously, though, it must be the damned luck of the Irish. With you surviving that jump then getting to go to DC-"

"What jump," Marie interjected, frowning as she looked between the two of them.

Muck's eyes widened as he realized that she shouldn't have said that. Malarkey shot him a look as he shifted in his spot uncomfortably.

"Nothing," Muck replied, scratching the back of his head nervously.

"What jump," Marie pressed, this time she said it firmer than she did before.

Malarkey sighed, knowing that Marie wouldn't drop the topic unless she knew. She was too damned stubborn for her own good, a trait that drove him crazy at times.

"The spring jump that we had to do in Mackall, I didn't pack my chute very good and ended up getting five blown panels as I was falling. Some loose BBs tore up my chute as I jumped I think. There was no air in the canopy when I was descending. I almost landed in a lake, but I pulled the reserve chute but… I kinda blundered on that too…" Malarkey paused for a minute and tried to laugh it off, but Marie looked at him with serious eyes. He sighed again before he continued, "I barely slowed down and ended up crashing into a tree. I got caught hanging from it with the suspension lines, but I'm okay, really."

"You could've died…" Marie muttered after a moment of prolonged silence.

"But I _didn't_ ," Malarkey added in emphasis, "if anything, this experience taught me a lesson.

"Please just… be more careful…" Marie sighed, "I just don't want…" She couldn't finish her sentence. T

"Oh, he will," Muck piped up, "like he said, learned a lesson from that," he tried to fix the situation, but it was futile. Worrying too much was another trait of Marie's that would drive Malarkey crazy.

Marie didn't answer, she felt too upset at the fact that Malarkey had almost died from a mistake, and she didn't know about it. The mood had been killed by then, so Marie decided to return back to her barracks for a few minutes until training started up again, trying to process what she had heard. Things around Mackall just kept going from bad to worse.


	6. Aldbourne Bound

**Chapter 5: Aldbourne Bound**

_Camp Shanks, New York_

_September 1943_

As summer drew to an end, and Easy Company had been photographed for prosperity, in August every member was given a furlough to return home before they were shipped to Aldbourne, England.

Returning to her hometown, Marie felt like she was an entity revisiting an old dream. The train ride had left her anxious and somewhat weary, a feeling she couldn't shake. She fought with herself, telling herself continuously that she should be thrilled to be returning home on a much-needed furlough. Stepping off the train she was greeted with the familiar Georgia heat as the sun beat down on her, and the red clay that coated the ground and scuffed up her dress green boots. That was something she didn't miss.

Back at her hometown she felt like an outsider. She went to meet some friends, but the girls she used to hang around with had all married and had children. They seemed uncomfortable with Marie's career choice, and commented on how the look in her eyes changed. She would just rub her face absentmindedly, and wonder if she did appear as weathered as they said. Part of her really didn't care what they thought, if they wanted to settle down and be housewives that's fine, but that certain lifestyle did not appeal to Marie. Other acquaintances were eager to see her because she had become "famous." Back in November when Easy Company marched to Atlanta, her picture had been printed in the paper, along with a story on female paratroopers. They wanted their fifteen seconds of fame claiming they "knew" Marie Docherty, the female soldier from the paper.

Things in her old town had become so stirred up because of the war. Marie decided to spend the rest of the furlough at her house, feeling less exposed behind the yellow walls of her little southern home. Her father wanted to hear all about Easy Company, often bringing up her training as the topic of discussion at the dinner table. Anna, Marie's little sister, would politely eat and listen, although her disinterest in war was clearly etched on her young face. She was always the resigned one out of the three. Marie's brother Dave on the other hand couldn't stop asking Marie questions about the weapons and excitement of warfare. He was so eager to learn details on how her company was going to quote: "kick Hitler's ass," that his bombardment with questions and crude language got him sent to his room. That same evening, Marie lay in her old bed, listening to her sister play her cello through the walls. Anna favored Beethoven, and would often play his melancholier known pieces as the sun began to set. Closing her eyes, Marie let herself be taken away by _String Quartet In C-sharp Minor, Op.131._ For the first time since returning home, she felt calm.

The morning she had to catch the train back to Fort Bragg, she packed her suitcase neatly, folding everything with such military precision that she was nearly running late. She had been counting down the days until her furlough ended and she could return to Easy Company. Her father drove her in his Oldsmobile to the train station. The two seldom said much to each other, and the tension only grew the closer they got to her destination. As they exited the car at the train station, she faced her father. His tanned face, from years of hard work under the unforgiving sun, smiled at her in understanding. He placed his calloused hands on his daughter's shoulders and stared at her for a moment, taking in her image in mute affection. Neither of them could find the words to properly depart before she was shipped overseas. They shared a silent goodbye between each other, understanding that there was a chance Marie wouldn't make it back from Europe.

She preferred the possibility to be unspoken.

**0000**

Marie returned to Fort Bragg and, meeting up with Muck. They would soon be boarding a train that would take them to New York, then on September 5 they would board the _SS Samaria_ and would sail across the pond to Aldbourne. Muck and Marie sat outside one late August summer night, just looking up at the stars and pondering the days to come. He was smoking a cigarette while Marie was pointing out constellations to herself.

"Going back home felt… queer…" Marie mumbled, tracing the constellation Ophiuchus with her pointer finger.

"Yeah, I thought so too," Muck agreed, taking a drag of his cigarette, "it felt wonderful to see my family again, and Faye… but I also felt very out of place. And the goodbyes were the worst part."

Marie sighed lightly. Marie could imagine her friends in Easy Company going home and their mothers and fathers crying about them leaving, wrapping them into tight hugs, begging them not to leave. Only Marie's father wasn't an emotional person and Marie's mother was God knows where.

"Don is having a hard time getting back. His flight was cancelled and it's delaying him from returning to Bragg. I think he's stuck in Chicago or somethin'," Muck informed her, his eyes downcast, studying his cigarette.

"I hope he doesn't miss the train."

"Sergeant Evans threatened him with a court-martial for going AWOL," Muck chuckled, shaking his head at the blatant hostility of Sobel's little lackey.

"It's not like it was his fault," Marie answered, flatly. Evans always seemed to have a personal vendetta against Malarkey, but no one understood why.

Muck shrugged, taking another drag of cigarette. "Hey, he also went to New York to visit his girl. She moved there to be a singer, you know. Apparently, she'd gained weight or something and Malarkey broke up with her."

Marie didn't respond, she was unable to pinpoint how she felt exactly from the news.

Muck shrugged again and continued: "They've always been off and on, and the breakups are usually for dumb reasons like that. He called me and told me that she'd lost her 'athletic figure' or something. I'm pretty sure they're going to get back together again soon."

"Remind me to smack him when he gets back," Marie joked.

Muck laughed. "Will do!"

The _SS Samaria_ was not as big of a ship as originally imagined it would be. The old British vessel was designed to fit 2500 sous, instead 5000 men and women were going to be crammed onto the ship. Marie boarded the ship and waited at the upper deck with Emilia, Malarkey, and Muck, staring out into New York Harbor. Marie peered off into the harbor, wishing that there were people sending them off and waving at them with handkerchiefs as they got ready to sail. But this wasn't like the movies, this was real life.

As the ship passed the Statue of Liberty, some of the soldiers started to become emotional. It did feel strange; it was like saying goodbye to a person that you had a feeling you'd never run into again. This had been Marie's first time ever seeing Lady Liberty as she marveled at the grand statue from a distance. The finality of their departure had finally hit them all.

"It's official now, isn't it," Emilia said aloud to no one in particular.

"Yeah…" Malarkey mumbled.

Marie could hear a lump in his throat. For a brief moment, she was afraid that he'd start crying, but he didn't.

Malarkey looked over at his three friends and pulled out a letter. "Did you guys read the letter that Sobel sent home to all of our families?"

"No," Muck answered, looking at the letter Malarkey was holding in curiosity.

"Reading it, you'd think Sobel actually had a heart," Malarkey chuckled. He cleared his throat in preparation to read the letter aloud:

_'Dear Madam,_

_Soon your son/daughter [individual names here] will drop from the sky to engage and defeat the enemy. He/she will have the best of weapons, and equipment, and have had months of hard, and strenuous training to prepare him/her for success on the battlefield._

_Your frequent letters of love, and encouragement, will arm him/her with a fighting heart. With that, he cannot fail, but will win glory for himself/herself, make you proud of him/her, and his/her country ever grateful for his/her service in its hour of need._

_Signed,_

_Captain Herbert Sobel'_

"Are all the letters addressed 'Dear Madam'," Marie asked Malarkey.

"Yeah, as far as I know," Malarkey nodded.

Marie turned to rest her head on her arms that were propped up on the ship's guardrail. She stared out into the ocean and the churning water. _Dear Madam_. Didn't Sobel realize that not everyone had a mother back home waiting for their return?

"Is something wrong," Muck asked, peering over Marie's shoulder.

"I think I'm going to go settle in," Marie turned around and started to leave. Before she left her three friends, she opened her palm and gave Malarkey a good slap on the back of his neck. The impact took him by surprise, lurching him forward as he grabbed the guardrail for support.

"What the hell was that for," He cried.

Muck had instantly started laughing, while Emilia gasped in bewilderment.

"For Bernice," Marie said with an impish smile. She spun on her heels then waltzed off to where all the women were staying on the ship.

"Skip! You told her," She heard Malarkey shout before she was out of earshot.

The ship was dim, noisy, and smelled strongly of sea salt and body odor. The bunks were crowded together, stacked on top of the other, and looked more like hammocks than actual cots. The narrow corridors of the ship were such a hassle to navigate through that only one person could pass at a time. In the women's only chambers, Marie sat a few bunks up, trying to drown out her feelings of being boxed in the ship. Florence was a few bunks from her, reading a magazine along with Diana.

"Hey, Marie," Diana greeted, just noticing Marie was present in the room.

"Hi," Marie replied, peeking over her bunk.

"Well, I'm bored," Florence declared, throwing the magazine off to the side.

"I was still reading that," Diana complained, bending over her bunk so she could pick it up.

"You girls can sit here all you like, I'm going to have some fun," Florence announced, standing up to leave.

"Where are you going," Marie asked her.

"To visit some friends," Florence said with a sly grin and a wink.

"Don't get caught like Jane did."

Emilia came into the room, passing Florence and giving her a strange look. Emilia asked her where she was going and Florence just laughed in response. Emilia looked over at the girls, whom only shrugged in defeat.

"Hey, Marie, your boyfriend is single now. You have a chance," Emilia badgered," although I must say, hitting him wasn't a good way to start out the relationship."

"For the last time Em, he's not my boyfriend." Marie rolled her eyes then lay back down in her bunk.

"Don't shut me out. You should live a little, give into your feelings," Emilia called up to her.

"You're starting to sound like Florence," Marie replied in an irritated singsong. She heard Emilia mumble something to Diana but it wasn't audible enough for her to understand.

The first few days sailing for Marie had been horrible. She had gotten seasick from the continuous rocking of the ship, and had terrible menstrual cramps that had brought her to her knees from the sheer pain. She spent days on in inside the infirmary, clutching her lower stomach in pain and throwing up from extreme nausea. Emilia came to visit her every day; Malarkey and Muck on the other hand were told about her condition and decided they should keep their distance. Marie didn't mind, she'd rather them not see her like this.

"You look dreadful," Emilia told her as she sat on Marie's bed.

Marie was lying down on her side, sweating profusely. She looked extra pale and was running a fever. The sickening swaying of the ship made her stomach hitch and lurch constantly.

"I _feel_ dreadful," Marie muttered weakly.

"Better not let Sobel see you like this. He'll make it an excuse to get you kicked out," Emilia whispered to her, making sure no one was in earshot.

"That makes me feel so much better," Marie groaned sarcastically.

Emilia moved some strands of Marie's hair out of her face. She was so sweaty that her messy blonde hair was sticking to her skin.

"Have the nurses given you anything yet," Emilia asked.

Marie shook her head, "they're too busy. You know I'd treat myself if I could."

Emilia pursed her lips in frustration, "I'll be right back."

She sat up and dashed off to find someone that would help her. She was furious that they'd leave Marie sitting on the bed without so much as acknowledging her existence. Despite her current feeling of illness, Marie smiled to herself. Emilia was such a dear friend that she appreciated so much. Emilia returned with a cup of water, motion sickness pills, and painkillers for Marie. Marie propped herself up on her elbow so she could swallow them down hastily. She then laid back down on her pillow, shutting her eyes slowly in exhaustion.

Emilia felt her forehead with the back of her hand. "You're burning up," Emilia announced, frowning at her friend's condition, "you sure you don't have the flu, too?"

"I'm positive. Just give me a few more hours and I'll be right as rain," Marie answered.

"I hope you get better soon. I'll keep Florence away from nestling into the Easy Co. crowd. Lord knows she's really trying. We've got the best company of chivalrous men, after all," Emilia joked.

"Florence can do whatever she pleases," Marie mumbled, turning over in her bed sleepily, her back now facing Emilia.

"Is that so? What if she starts flirting with Malark? And he _accepts_ her out of strange lonely desperation _-"_ Emilia started.

Marie turned over on her bed to give Emilia an annoyed glare.

Emilia saw the rise she got out of her friend and laughed, " _Yo lo sabía, estás loca por él,"_ Emilia added in Spanish, still laughing.

"What? I hate it when you do that. What did you say?"

"Nothing, dear," Emilia said innocently.

Marie turned back around in her bed, knowing that Emilia would never tell her what she said. Emilia stayed at her bedside until she was able to drift off to sleep. Marie dreamed of jumping out of planes, and falling and falling, never reaching the ground. She had mixed feelings about going overseas. She was excited for the adventure of traveling to new places, but she was afraid of what the war would bring, especially being led by Sobel. She barely saw Sobel during the whole trip, but that was fine with her. Easy needed a break from his overbearing drills and presence.

All Marie knew was that she hated ships and she wanted to get the hell off of this one.


	7. Around the Corner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to my history Beta from ff.net Byron.W4 for helping with conflicting dates and ranks!

**Chapter 6: Around the Corner**

_Aldbourne, England_

_September 1943 – May 1944_

Shortly after 2nd Battalion arrived in England, Easy Company was set to do a demonstration jump for Winston Churchill, Dwight D. Eisenhower, General Maxell Taylor, and a list of other impressive names. Marie felt a little star-struck by these men and the fact that these distinguished individuals would be observing them. The jump itself was simple enough, it was just like every other jump they've done, but the pressure of trying to impress these men is what made the task feel as daunting as the first time they had leapt from planes.

After the jump, everyone assembled at Greenham Common Airbase to await the inspection from the higher-ups. Marie was afraid that they wouldn't be too happy to see Emilia and herself there because they were women. Old military men like Eisenhower and Churchill were often stuck in their old ways. After all, women joining the front had been deemed very unpopular, and a poor choice taxes used.

As she waited, Marie anxiously started to fidget, unable to help herself. She wiped her sweaty palms on her pants, hoping that she wouldn't be caught not standing 'at ease.' Marie saw that Malarkey was up in the front rank for reasons she didn't understand, considering he was only a private. He looked confused as well, it seemed like he'd be more toward the rear with the rest of the mortar squad. Eisenhower and Churchill went over to talk to him. They saluted him and Marie couldn't help but smile at that. To have dignitaries like them acknowledge and ask questions must've felt like an honor. Marie marveled at how coolly Malarkey presented himself before them.

Marie nervously picked at the Red Cross on her left sleeve of her Class A uniform as time ticked on. John Martin, a short man with a tough attitude, and facial features that reminded her of a frog, was standing to her right, watching her with his peripherals. She was so caught up in her anxiety that she didn't even notice his sharp scrutiny. His grey eyes watched her for a moment, irritated by her restlessness.

"Stop," Martin ordered in a hushed, brisk voice, nudging her with his elbow.

She immediately placed her hands behind her back. The last thing she needed was to get lectured by General Taylor _and_ Sobel about proper protocol. To Marie's relief, they never came to talk to her. She thought it was because she was too far back from the front of the line, and that made her calm down at last.

Back outside, some Easy Company members gathered around to talk about what happened. Marie walked over to join them. Malarkey saw her approaching, and extended his arm so he could welcome her. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders casually as the men laughed at their conversation.

"I can't believe an ROTC dropout like you got a salute from Ike, Malark," Guarnere said mildly, shaking his head like it had been the most ridiculous thing he'd ever seen.

"Lucky you were placed at the front of the line," Luz said, clapping Malarkey on the shoulder.

"Damned luck of the Irish," Muck added.

"I'm glad they didn't talk to me," Marie piped up.

"Why?" Lipton asked her.

"I find them intimidating," Marie replied, honestly.

"That's why you were squirming so badly?" Martin questioned with authority, raising an eyebrow at her.

It reminded her of when she did something bad when she was a child and her father would give her "the look." Seeing something so parental out here made her stomach knot with familiar and distant feelings of childhood guilt.

"Yes… sorry about that," Marie replied to the sergeant, meekly.

"Don't apologize to me, pumpkin. Just don't let Sobel catch you doing that," Martin warned.

He was right, Sobel already helicoptered around her so much as it is, she didn't need him to find an _actual_ mistake that he could punish her for, instead of inviting an infraction as he usually did.

After the conversation, Malarkey and Marie made their way around the base, talking about their past week in England, and how they were adjusting to life in another country.

"Churchill asked if I liked England," Malarkey told her.

She listened curiously as they walked through the dew-covered grass. "Well, do you?"

"Honestly, not too fond of the weather," He replied flatly, looking up toward the sky.

England always seemed to feel damp and overcast by clouds every single day. It was also very cold here, colder than what Marie was used to. She didn't mind all the rain, though. Rain meant lighter training with Sobel and more classroom lecture.

"Did you tell him that?" Marie asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Of course not. I'm also not very fond of the food, either."

Marie had to agree with him on that one. Two-thirds of the company had gotten food poisoning from eating here. Her face grimaced at the memory of the taste of the undercooked food, along with the memory of all the vomit she'd had to clean up at the infirmary the past few days.

"I don't think I can stomach anymore mutton," Marie declared, sticking out her tongue, "but I am fond of the scenery here, and the history."

"Me too. The people here are friendly," Malarkey added.

He was right about that. Some English soldiers had seen her on base along with her Screamin' Eagle patch, and went over to talk to her. One of them even started to flirt with her, his charming accent had taken her off guard. She wasn't used to that kind of attention, she had glanced around to see if he'd been addressing someone else, receiving a laugh because of her "coyness" from the British soldiers. He'd asked her to join him in the nearby pub and she said she'd think about it. Recalling the encounter made her smile.

"What are you smiling about?" Malarkey's voice broke through her thoughts.

"I was asked on a date," Marie told him in a jovial whisper.

His eyebrows shot up in surprise. He had stopped walking, causing Marie to stop and look back at him, tilting her head to the side in question.

"A date? Who asked you?" Malarkey asked her, taken aback.

"I know it's unbelievable that someone would actually ask me out, huh?" Marie laughed.

"No! That's not what I meant," He said shaking his head, "I mean… who asked you? One of the guys?"

"It was one of the British soldiers on base," Marie replied.

Malarkey paused for a moment, glancing to the ground and working his jaw in thought. "Did you say yes?"

"I told him I'd think about it," Marie answered with a shrug.

"Good," Malarkey stated quickly.

Malarkey's eyes widened as he realized what he'd just said, "I mean… it's good that you didn't say no," He added hastily, but his voice trailed off slightly.

"We should be getting back," Marie brought up, trying to relieve the sudden awkward tension, ignoring the sudden heat radiating from her cheeks, "Welsh is going to be giving classroom lectures soon."

"Yeah. Let's head back," Malarkey agreed, scratching the back of his head.

**0000**

Through the months, the Army required all soldiers to learn self-defense, with both his or her bayonets and bare hands. Marie enjoyed the simulations, it reminded her of her father's boxing days. She held the rifle steadily, and yelled every time she went to thrust the bayonet forward, aiming for the chest of her opponent. Muck had been her partner, and he only laughed at her sudden aggression.

"Jesus, Marie. I don't think we have to worry about you on the field," Muck informed her, a little out of breath from her intensity.

She felt embarrassed that she'd gotten so into it like a little kid playing soldier.

"It's fine, you're doing great," He added, noticing her reddened face, "better than me, anyway."

She didn't want to admit that the simple action of blocking, evading, and jabbing with the piece of steel thrilled her deep down. Watching her father box, attending boxing matches, practices, and even bookkeepers for betting had been a large part of her odd childhood.

"All you do is aim for the solar plexus," Marie stated simply, mostly to herself.

"I don't know what that is," Muck said.

Marie pointed her finger at the area slightly under the chest where the two rib cages meet on his body, showing Muck what she meant.

"There's an area here called the solar plexus, or celiac plexus, where a lot of nerve fibers and arteries meet. Including some of the big ones, like the renal and abdominal arteries. You can feel that there isn't much protection there like the breastbone," She explained, "you can guess that a blow there would be fatal."

"Look at you, you little smarty-pants," Muck chuckled with a mild admiration.

Marie looked down at her shoes, feeling embarrassed again, "I'm so sorry. Sometimes I go off on these tangents and I know it's annoying, but-"

"It's fine, Marie. Impressive, actually. I wish Sobel could see past the fact that you're a woman and focus on your intelligence," He told her, holding up his hand so she'd stop apologizing.

She beamed at his words, "thanks, Skip!"

The rest of the days consisted of mortar practice, and targeting for Muck and Malarkey with Guarnere leading. Marie and Emilia attended lectures relating to their own individual specialties. Marie had spent a lot of her time with Eugene Roe, while Emilia was stationed mostly with the lieutenants, continuing her training as an intelligence solider.

Shortly after, they received the news that Winters was splitting up the four of them up. Marie and Malarkey were to be in 2nd platoon, while Muck and Emilia were to be in 1st. Marie would later find out the reason was because they'd gotten too close, with Muck and Malarkey being like brothers and Emilia and Marie being like sisters, Winters thought it would be bad if something happened and the other one would be too devastated. Marie thought this decision was sad, and eerily prophetic. It wasn't the worst news the friends had ever gotten, they still were thick as thieves. The village of Aldbourne was quaint, and had a friendly atmosphere enough to where it felt comfortable to wander around the streets. Weekend passes were out most of the time, just like it had been at Toccoa the first few weeks, but that didn't stop everyone from enjoying themselves, but there was a testing matter that often got in the way of their fun: Sobel.

Sobel had grown nervous when he entered England. He bore down on everyone harder than before, but the logic behind his orders had gone. He was screwing up simple maneuvers, things a CO should know by heart. If he couldn't handle the pressure here, then he definitely couldn't handle the pressure out where the Germans were actually fighting. 1944 was fast approaching, only a couple months away, and no one felt ready for it because of him.

Sobel was late with first platoon one afternoon for a simple navigation maneuver, as Marie waited with Winters and Guarnere in 2nd platoon. Winters had grown tired of waiting, so he decided to signal Guarnere's platoon to head to the left while Winters takes the right. They got in position behind a bush and ended up almost running into an elderly man with a bike. Soon enough Sobel's familiar "hi-ho silver!" echoed and they were seen approaching from behind.

So much for this being a stealth operation.

Marie later found out from Muck and Emilia that the platoon had played a prank on Sobel. Luz impersonated Major Oliver Horton's voice when he was out of sight, and ordered Sobel to cut a barbed wire fence so they could get through. Sobel was given hell from Major Strayer, and the farmers, because the livestock being held behind the fence had escaped and was trampling all over HQ. Unfortunately for Winters, Sobel had taken out his anger on him. Winters had chosen to take a court-martial over his other option, taking Sobel off-guard. Sobel was jealous of Winters' leadership abilities, and often punished the poor man because of his envy. But this time he'd pushed Winters too far. This was just one more example of Sobel's childishness and pettiness.

Things were looking grim.

**0000**

It was November 1943, at this point when the word spread of the court-martial, everything had unraveled within the company. Out of defiance from Winters court-martial and from Sobel's inability to lead the men, Easy Company's NCOs had written a letter of their resignation, turning in their stripes. Emilia had first told her the news, and Marie's blood ran cold. They could be shot for such mutiny, a war crime that was considered one of the worst. The tension was thick and it only made Sobel feel cornered enough to where he'd spring in for the attack at any moment. And his target this time had been Marie.

One day Marie was playing another round of basketball with Malarkey, Perconte, and Bull. They all needed an excuse to take their minds off of Winters court-martial, and the fear of what Sink would do when he received the letters from the noncoms.

Since Marie was so short, Bull had picked her and like a small child and placed her on his shoulders so she could reach the basket easier. She dunked the basketball through the hoop, while Malarkey and Perconte struggled to block the shot.

"Are we playing basketball or chicken?" Perconte protested, but couldn't help cracking a smile himself.

Marie was laughing too hard to realize that Florence was watching them, looking strangely skittish. Something was on her mind, and she had picked Marie of all people to confide in (Lord knew why).

"Marie? May I speak to you?" Florence called to her.

Marie looked over at Florence and saw the fear and desperation in her eyes. Marie's smile faltered instantly. She signaled for Bull to let her down, and ran over to Florence, who gripped her arm tightly, and forcefully pulled her further away from the guys.

"What's going on," Marie asked her, concerned.

Florence glanced around, making sure no one was listening in, "I need a favor. A big favor, Marie. I don't know who else I can turn to."

"What?"

"I need you to do something for me."

"What do you need," Marie pressed.

"I need you to give me a pregnancy test in the infirmary," Florence told her in a low voice.

Marie's face drained of color, "oh, Florence…"

"You know how to do one, don't you?" Florence asked her desperately.

"Yes, I know how it works. Getting the hCG from your urine will be simple enough, but after I've got a urine sample I'll need to-"

"Let's just get it over with," Florence interrupted.

Marie only nodded, hating this but she was Florence's only chance.

A few days later, Lipton was given instruction to teach the soldiers about properly digging a foxhole. He covered everything from how to dig them quickly, to the correct depth. They all stood with shovels in their hands, penetrating the damp ground with the ends, then scooping up dirt and throwing it overhead. Marie's hands had already started to blister; her hands practically screamed in protest as she gripped the shovel continuing to dig into the ground. They'd been digging foxholes for well over an hour, and the men were starting to get fractious. Marie felt bad for Lip being given this assignment; it wasn't his fault that digging holes was so boring, and yet physically grueling. The constant friction on Marie's hands started to get worse. She had to take a break. She placed the shovel on the ground then looked down at her hands. The blisters were bad and some sections of her skin had started to bleed.

"Oh, for crying out loud," Marie groaned to herself.

Lipton saw her distress and went over to check up on the female medic. "Everything okay?" He asked her.

"I've got vesicles," Marie sighed, showing Lip her hands, "it's going to take a long time before the fluid seeps back in with these ones…" She muttered to herself, observing the blisters again.

Lipton gave her a sympathetic smile then patted on her shoulder, "go to the infirmary," he ordered her in a gentle voice.

Inside the infirmary, she got bandages wrapped around her hands- there wasn't much that could be done for blisters. Marie also had a paper waiting for her given to her from one of the volunteer nurses. She stared at the folded paper, puzzled on what it could be. She opened it to find it was Florence's long-awaited pregnancy test. Marie's eyes widened and her heart rate sped up as she quickly folded the paper back up. She anxiously left the infirmary so she could run the results over to Florence, but little did she know Sobel had assembled Easy to go for a run without informing her. He had finally found his opportunity to pounce.

"Docherty," His voice shouted.

Marie halted dead in her tracks. She turned to see everyone lined up in formation with Sobel in front, eyeing her dangerously. She reluctantly went over to him, eyes downcast as she reluctantly approached her CO with mounting dread.

"Get on your gear and-" He stopped when he saw the folded paper she was holding, "what is that, Docherty?"

Marie's flesh went cold. She looked down at her bandaged hands, realizing that she was still holding Florence's pregnancy results out in the open.

Sobel extended his hand. "Hand it over," he ordered.

Marie looked up at him, her mouth agape from the order. Easy Company watched silently from behind Sobel, drinking in every moment of the confrontation.

"Hand. It. Over." Sobel demanded again through gritted teeth.

With a trembling hand, she gave the paper to her CO. He snatched it away from her, then opened it to read it. A sneer appeared at the end of his lips as he read it silently, then he let out a booming laugh that made Marie shudder. Marie stood there, visibly shaking at this point. She wanted to cry at her stupidity for not being more discreet with Florence's results. She held her hands together, trying to force herself to stop trembling.

"Well, well, Miss Docherty. You've been quite _busy_ lately," Sobel told her with a sickening grin.

She averted her eyes and stared down at her shoes, her face growing hot with humiliation. He would think that they were _her_ results, she didn't request Florence's name to be printed on them for anonymity.

"I think Colonel Sink would be very _interested_ to read this."

"What are you talking about, sir?" Marie's voice came out low and mechanical. She knew denying it was futile.

Sobel cocked his head, and sneered again. "What am I talking about? I'm talking about this paper. It looks like the results of a pregnancy test, and look at this, it says the results have come out _positive_ ," He said it loud enough for the entire company to hear.

Everyone in Easy Company's mouths dropped open. Emilia gave her a look of utter disbelief. Muck and Malarkey stared back at her, slack-jawed. She bit her lip as she felt their stares bear down on her like a physical weight. Marie opened her mouth to tell Sobel that it wasn't hers, but she knew she couldn't bring herself rat out Florence. She closed her mouth and lowered her head in defeat.

"Go wait for me back in HQ, Docherty. We have much to discuss," Sobel ordered her, slipping the results in his breast pocket.

"Yes, sir," she said meekly.

"I knew you were a little slut the first moment I'd met you. This is why women can't be on the front," Sobel spat.

Marie's face had turned scarlet while angry tears welled up in her eyes. She remained standing before Sobel, her legs felt like anchors.

"Did you hear me? You're dismissed. Get out of here and wait for me," Sobel barked.

She saluted him briskly, then turned to walk to HQ. Her mind was racing, she didn't know what to do in this situation. If she covered for Florence then her entire military career would be over, she'd have to leave Easy Company. It was only a matter of time before Florence would start showing as well, but Marie knew that she couldn't live with herself if she revealed that the results were hers. Marie headed over to HQ as if she was walking the last mile. But Marie never met with Sobel that day. Sobel had met with first Sink and that was it. Marie ended up waiting for hours outside of Sink's office, growing grimmer the longer she waited. Finally, Sink's office door opened, but Sobel wasn't the one who came out, it was Florence.

Marie gaped. "Florence? What are you-"

"I couldn't let you take the fall for me, Marie," Florence said in a soft voice, "I told the commanding officer everything."

Florence walked over to Marie, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You're a good friend, Marie. I'm sorry I didn't realize this sooner."

Marie watched her leave, too stunned to move or speak. It turned out that Marie would never have to face Sobel, in fact she wouldn't have to deal with Sobel for the rest of her life. Marie was so happy to rid herself of that bully once and for all. Sobel was gone. He was sent off by Sink to teach parachute jumping in the village of Chilton Foliat. 1st Lieutenant Thomas Meehan, would replace Sobel almost immediately.

Winters was free of the court-martial, while all the noncoms that had written the letter turning in their stripes, was given a second chance. Although one of the NCOs was dismissed, and some lost their ranks, they were still with Easy and were still alive. Things were starting to turn around, but everyone's spirits were still low. Florence had been discharged for fraternizing, so now Diana was the only woman left in Fox Company. It was sad to watch her go, but Marie hoped for her sake that the pregnancy was a false positive. She was so thankful to Florence that she'd went and told the truth to Sink, Marie didn't know what she'd do if she'd been discharged.

**0000**

1944 was greeted with the men getting serious colds from the weather, and were still getting sick from the food. Spring quickly approached, and before Marie knew it, it was already April. One more month and they'd be sent to Uppottery, England. That would be Easy Company's last stop until the real fighting began.

1944 wasn't starting out as a very promising year.

Malarkey had gotten really sick, and was sent out to the hospital and ended up being held there for two weeks. Everyone was worried sick about his condition, he'd left Easy with a fever of 105 and was having serious aches and pains in his ears.

"I heard the doctor doesn't want him to jump out of planes anymore," Marie told Emilia one night while they were lying wide-awake in their barracks, "he's got some kind of serious infection, they've been shooting unbelievable amounts of penicillin into him."

"Lord have mercy…" Emilia gasped.

"The infection almost went to his head, Em. He could've easily died if it wasn't caught in time."

"It's been a stressful few months," Emilia said with a deep sigh, "and it's only going to get even harder."

Marie didn't answer.

"I know you're scared for him, Marie. He will come back, he'll be fine," Emilia soothed.

"I hope you're right," Marie whispered.

Malarkey had returned feeling better, but not in the best of spirits. Malarkey had started writing Bernice again while he was recovering, and now their relationship was rekindled. Marie had mixed feelings about him being back with Bernice. She was happy that Bernice made him happy, but him being with a woman made her feel secretly envious.

In early May Easy Company did their last practice jump. This jump was to be done in full gear, and none of them had ever jumped in full gear before. After that, all the practice jumps were over for good.

Malarkey told her that they'd done about "three dozen total," and that was hard to take in. Now when they'd jump again, it would be the real deal.

Marie thought everyone would be cheery since Sobel was no longer leading the men, but she was wrong. Morale was worse than ever before. The stories of the fighting in North Africa and Italy were spreading around amongst the base. Everyone had spent well over a year preparing for the invasion, but no one truly felt ready. Marie wished that she was back in Toccoa for a brief moment, back when things were simpler, and they were all wet behind the ears. The past few months at Aldbourne had been a whirlwind of chaos, Marie wished that everything would just slow down for a moment so she could catch her breath.

The night before the big move to Uppottery, Marie, Malarkey, Emilia and Muck all sat outside, staring up at the sky. This had become a sort of a nighttime ritual for the four of them. Emilia, Muck, and Malarkey were smoking, but Marie wasn't. She didn't enjoy cigarettes, and was one of the very few in Easy Company who didn't smoke. She knew when the war finally came for them, she wouldn't be seeing much of Emilia or Muck because they would be in a different platoon. She had to take every precious moment she could with all of them together and cherish it while she could.

Emilia removed the cigarette from between her pouty lips, and blew out a steady puff of smoke. She held it in her elegant fingers and glanced over at Marie, who was slouching over, appearing sullen.

"You sure you don't want one? It really takes the edge off. Not as much as alcohol, but it's a good substitute," Emilia told her with a small smile.

Marie only shook her head.

"I wish we could've hit London together before all hell broke loose," Emilia sighed, regretfully.

"I know. That would've been fun," Muck agreed.

"At least we had the pubs to keep us sane for a short while," Malarkey said, taking a drag of his cigarette.

"You okay? You seem extra quiet tonight," Muck commented, looking at Marie.

"Huh? Oh… yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking," Marie said in a distant voice.

"You thinkin' 'bout that whole pregnancy thing with Flo? You really had me scared for a minute. I thought that Brit that asked you on a date that one time knocked you up or something," Malarkey told her, shaking his head at the memory. He looked a little disgusted by the thought.

"I haven't even seen that soldier since that day."

"You really thought Marie would get pregnant at a time like this," Emilia asked Malarkey, eyeing him skeptically, "our little saint here would never do that."

Marie rolled her eyes at the Puerto-Rican.

"Not before marriage, right Marie?" Muck, a known Catholic, said with a grin, "that's what my ma always used to say."

"But in all seriousness, I can't believe you'd take the blame for Florence," Malarkey brought up again, contorting his face at the very idea, "that woman wasn't even nice to you."

"I… It was the right thing to do," Marie concluded.

"No, it wasn't," Malarkey retorted.

"Hey, be happy everybody, I want to end tonight on a high note," Muck interjected. He blew his cigarette smoke in Malarkey's face.

Marie and Emilia laughed as Malarkey waved the smoke away.

"I love you all," Marie suddenly heard herself say.

All of them looked over at her, giving her funny looks.

"I mean it… I don't know what I'd do without any of you."

Emilia wrapped one arm around Marie, pulling her into a side hug. Malarkey did the same, and Muck also joined in. They all stayed in a tight, group embrace for a while.

"You'll never have to find out what it's like to be without us," Malarkey soothed.

"Yeah, we'll always stick together," Muck said.

"Everything will be all right," Emilia added, her voice soft.

For once, Marie actually believed them. Everything truly felt like it would be all right.


	8. Night of Nights

**Chapter 7: Night of Nights**

_Upottery, England_

_May – June 1944_

In five days, they would be invading France. Five days.

Marie paced around the women's barracks, trying to exhaust the anxiety out of her, but it remained like a thorn in her side. No one was allowed to leave the base, so she couldn't even use a weekend pass to get her mind off of D-Day. They had reviewed over everything a hundred times over: everything from equipment checks, foxholes, artillery, passwords (like flash/thunder), what the Kraut uniform looks like, and they had studied maps of the English Channel and Cherbourg enough to where it was permanently burned in their brains. But even with all the training, Marie still was petrified.

"Stop pacing, Docherty. You're making _me_ nervous," Diana said, laying on her bed and reading a magazine.

Marie didn't respond, she continued to shuffle around.

"You're a medic, you won't be fighting. I, on the other hand, am part of the Airborne Infantry, I'll be doing the killing," Barbara retorted while she was making her bed, "the boys won't let anything happen to you. Besides, Krauts don't shoot at medics."

"Yeah, that Red Cross you have on is like automatic immunity," Diana agreed.

"Relax," Diana ordered, "just remember everything you've trained for, and you'll be fine."

"You're not at all nervous?" Marie asked her in disbelief.

"No," Diana replied, keeping her eyes on the magazine.

"Well the anticipation is _killing_ me," Marie sighed, running her hands through her hair.

"It's just another jump," Barbara told her with a shrug while smoothing out the creases on her bed sheets.

Marie sighed again, shaking her head at them. They would all be jumping right into enemy territory, an actual warzone; something they had all studied but never experienced. Some of them were going to _die._

Frustrated, Marie left the barracks to track down Emilia.

Marie walked into a tent where Winters, Meehan, and Emilia were going over maps and strategies before the jump. Emilia had been busy assisting with translating and geography so much lately that Marie had barely got to see her. Marie watched as Emilia drew on the maps with pencil, and pointed to different locations, her brow furrowed in serious concentration.

"Sergeant Docherty. What can I do for you?" Winters addressed her, noticing her standing at the tent entrance.

"Uh, sorry, sir. I just wanted to see Emilia for a moment," Marie told him shyly.

"Sergeant Valdez is busy at the moment, Sergeant Docherty," Meehan informed her.

Marie's eyes went downcast in embarrassment. "Yes, sir. My apologies. Wait…" Marie snapped her head up at Emilia. She looked at Emilia's sleeve and saw the "T" under three chevrons.

"Sergeant?" She questioned.

Winters smiled, "yes, we saw it fit to promote Valdez because of all the valuable work she's been doing. She's no longer a corporal."

Congratulations!" Marie beamed.

"Just give us a few more minutes, Docherty. You can talk to Valdez then," Winters concluded.

Marie saluted him then proceeded to wait outside the tent for her friend to finish up. Emilia eventually exited the tent. Marie drew her into a congratulatory hug.

"Technician Third Grade," Marie exclaimed, smiling at her friend.

"It's about time I caught up to you," Emilia said with a wink, "it's weird being a sergeant, or a staff sergeant I should say, since it's just a technical rank. Too bad us techs still don't have the authority to give commands and run platoons. I would've loved to boss the boys around."

Marie chuckled as she imagined the two of them giving Muck and Malarkey orders.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" Emilia asked.

Marie's smile fading as the fear rushed back, "honestly, Em… I'm scared."

"We all are," Emilia told her, tucking a loose strand of her black hair behind her ear, "anyone who says otherwise is a liar."

"I guess that makes Barbara and Diana liars then," Marie said flatly, "they were giving me flack for being afraid."

"Just remember everything and you'll be fine. That's all we can really do," Emilia assured her.

"That's just it, I'm afraid I'm going to go blank in the middle of the jump. I can see myself being so nervous that I forget the entire objective."

"Remember the pathfinders are going to jump an hour before us to set everything up, so we'll have something to go by," Emilia reminded her.

Marie nodded to that, feeling some of the uneasiness lift off her shoulders.

"They'll send in the radar, then we're going to jump five miles inland from Normandy. We'll head for Utah beach; the rallying point is Le Grand Chemin. You know all this, Marie. Meehan has been over it with us a thousand times."

"We meet at Le Grand Chemin at 0700 hours," Marie added.

"Exactly. See? You got it," Emilia soothed. She patted her friend on the shoulder, "I've really got to get back to helping the lieutenants. I'll see you around. Try not to have a panic attack, okay? And don't keep expecting the worst, you're going to make yourself sick with all this worrying."

With that Emilia went back into the tent.

**0000**

Emilia finished going over various maps and intel with Easy Company's CO, and Lieutenant Winters. They had already left the tent as she stayed behind to assist in cleaning up some documents. She heard the sound of the tent flap being moved, and glanced over her shoulder. Sergeant Floyd Talbert stood at the entrance, appearing a bit preoccupied with his thoughts. Marie had mentioned to Emilia that this "jock" had been staring at her from afar since they first joined Easy Company, but Emilia had blown her off. Now studying his baby blue eyes pinned on her, she wondered if her friend was right after all.

"How can I help you, Sergeant Talbert?"

Talbert smiled shyly, averting his eyes down toward his paratrooper boots, a small smile etched on his lips. Emilia watched him curiously, awaiting his response.

"We're jumping into Normandy soon…" he stated, his eyes still downcast.

"We are," Emilia replied, her dark eyes still glued to the tan soldier.

"I just wanted to say… in case I don't make it-"

"Hey, don't start saying things like that, Sarge," Emilia responded, her voice soft and comforting.

She took a step forward, a pantomime that took him off guard. He acknowledged her closeness, his cheeks turning slightly red. Emilia noted that he was blushing, and smiled kindly at him. She didn't expect such a timid disposition from him. In her platoon, Talbert always seemed outgoing, straight-forward, and focused as a solider. Seeing him act bashful now made something stir in Emilia's stomach, but she ignored it.

"I just wanted to say somethin' in case I don't get the chance to," Talbert spoke, his eyes finally meeting Emilia's, "I'm sure you hear this all the time, but I think you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen."

It was now Emilia's turn to blush. Men had always ogled at her, especially since joining the Army. Men would yell dirty things at her, gesture inappropriately, she even noticed some of the men get erections when she around. She would hold her head high and pretend not to hear or notice such things, but this was the first time a man had said a genuine compliment to her.

"I, um…thank you," Emilia piped up, her voice quiet.

The two stared at each other for a moment, unsure how to break the heavy silence. Emilia suddenly felt inclined to embrace him, even though she had vowed to obey Sink's rules and keep a professional distance. She hugged Talbert, letting her head rest under his shoulder. Stunned, Talbert didn't return the hug right away. He eventually wrapped his arms around her. The embrace felt desperate, as if the two soldiers were seeking comfort out of fear. The jump was coming up, so that wasn't very surprising to the two of them. The two broke apart quickly, unable to look at each other.

"See you on the plane," Talbert muttered.

Talbert exited the tent without another word, leaving Emilia alone with her thoughts.

**0000**

Sitting outside by the giant C-47 aircrafts made the reality of D-Day blatant. Marie was walking around, trying to find someone from 2nd platoon so she could get her supplies ready. She spotted Malarkey amongst the ocean of soldiers, and started to head over to him when she saw Lipton walking around and shouting. He was reminding everyone to sign up for the ten-thousand life insurance. Marie knew she'd forgot something, she ran up to Lipton.

"Make sure you don't miss out," Lipton called out to the crowd of jittery soldiers.

"Where is the signup," Marie asked him.

"Right over there, Sergeant Docherty," Lipton told her while pointing.

"Thanks. My father could really use that money," Marie stated, following the direction of his finger.

Lipton gave her a sad smile, "you already think you're not going to make it?" Lipton asked her, softly.

She looked over at him with uncertain eyes, and was about to say something when Martin walked up to them, looking distressed.

Martin had a letter from his wife. She found out that Guarnere's older brother Henry was killed in Monte Cassino.

"I think you should tell him, Johnny," Lipton said with a sigh.

"Before the jump?" Martin didn't look pleased at his answer.

Lipton offered his sympathies but there was nothing that could really be done about it. Lipton continued on with the life insurance message. Martin bit his lip and looked over at Marie.

"What do you think I should do?" Martin asked her.

"I'm not sure. Maybe you can make him find the letter by accident," Marie suggested, giving her shoulder a little shrug.

"Maybe," He pondered a minute like he was considering her advice. "I'll figure it out. See you later, Docherty," Martin said as he walked away.

Marie finished filling out the life insurance papers, signing her signature quickly, then went over to where Malarkey was sitting. He was struggling with his equipment along with Luz. Guarnere was sitting back and eating ice cream from a silver bowl, watching the two men wrangle with their gear. Seeing Guarnere made a wave of sadness wash over Marie. She fought not to let it show up on her face so he wouldn't think something was amiss. She sat down next to them and immediately started getting her equipment ready.

"Why are they springing these things on us now," Malarkey questioned them as he continued to fumble with his equipment.

Marie remained silent, slowly packing up her supplies, and thinking about the inevitable future of war and of Guarnere's brother. The regiment was in limbo at this point, they knew they were going to jump, but they were still waiting for the official word.

"It's just an extra eighty pounds strapped to your leg," Luz said in a sarcastic nonchalance.

He held up a strap that looked like a rope and stared at it blankly, "does anyone have any idea how the hell this thing works?"

Luz looked around but everyone gave him a clueless shrug. Marie thought it was crazy that they'd be jumping into Normandy without a clue how all of their equipment works. She shuddered at the thought, but continued to pack up her medical supplies and check her chute.

A soldier came around and was passing out a letter to everyone. Marie took it from his hands and peered down at the paper, but she couldn't focus her eyes on the words; they seemed to vibrate around the page. She felt relieved that Luz had begun to read it aloud, even if he was doing it in Sink's voice.

" _Soldiers of the Regiment,_

 _Tuh-niiight is the niiight…"_ Luz paused as he read on ahead, "of nights…" He read in a serious tone, dropping his Sink impersonation.

Marie gulped and looked down at her paper. It was official now, they'd be jumping in a few hours.

"That's why they gave us ice cream," Guarnere said, holding up his nearly empty bowl.

Marie let out an anguished groan as she set the letter down, and double-checked her reserve chute. Her hands trembled so much, and her palms were so slick with sweat, the fabric of the chute kept slipping through her fingers.

"You all right?" Malarkey asked her as he inspected his M1.

"I guess, despite the fact that I might go into cardiac arrest," Marie muttered.

"Want some ice cream?" Guarnere asked her, holding out his bowl.

"No thank you, Bill," Marie replied, looking at him over her shoulder.

"They didn't give you any weapons, Docherty?" Luz asked Marie, looking down at her neatly spread out supplies.

"Not even a sidearm, just all medical stuff," he observed.

"Medics don't usually carry weapons, George. If I do, I have to remove my cross armband so it doesn't violate the treaty that protects medics. I play a non-combatant role, so in order to maintain protection under the Geneva Convention I have to be unarmed."

"The Geneva Convention, huh? That'll be useful in a gunfight," Luz said sarcastically.

"If I do get attacked, that's a violation of humanitarian rights and the attacker would be charged with a war crime. There's some honor in battle, I suppose."

"Like the Krauts will reinforce that, I still think you should have somethin' to protect yourself," Guarnere grunted.

"You're going to be fine, Marie. It's just like jumping all the other dozen times we've jumped… except it'll be dark, and there'll be Germans… but all you have to do is follow the platoon when we land in the DZ, and you'll be golden," Malarkey told her.

"I know, I know. It's just… I can't help thinking that something is going to go wrong." Marie

"Don't get too worked up," Malarkey said with a sigh, knowing his words were trite.

Thirty minutes later or so, Marie had finished painting the black camouflage paint on Emilia's face, when Meehan gave them the news from Eisenhower: No jump tonight due to weather conditions.

D-Day was now moved to the June 6th. There was a mixture of cheers and groans. Most were anxious just to get it over with, and the extra day of wait just meant more waiting and anticipation. Marie wasn't sure how to feel, her overwhelming mixture of emotions just made her feel exhausted above all else.

"Well, we have another free day," Emilia announced with a smile, now wiping off her freshly painted face. "They're playing a movie tonight, _Mr. Lucky_ with Laraine Day and Cary Grant. You wanna watch?" Emilia asked Marie.

" I'll pass," Marie answered. "I think I'm gonna turn in early."

"Okay, see you later," Emilia waved goodbye.

Marie saw her friend go join up with Floyd Talbert, something she noted curiously. She decided to ask her about it later, right now she was far too tired and anxious.

The next morning everything had to be assembled all over again. Emilia had blackened her face again, and Marie found out that 2nd platoon wasn't really painting their faces, so she decided not to. Emilia had cut the ends of Marie's hair back to its original length: a short bob that ended at her chin. Emilia protested that she should let it grow out a little because it looked pretty, but they were entering a warzone, she didn't have the luxury to take care of her hair.

They triple checked their gear and chutes inside the hangars. The weather had calmed down a great deal, so Eisenhower wouldn't call off the jump this time. The extra day offered little comfort, in fact everyone seemed grimmer than before. Papers with a message from Eisenhower were passed out to everyone, meant to be an encouragement.

Marie looked down and read hers to herself:

_'Soldiers, sailors, and airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force!_

_You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you… Good luck! And let us all beseech of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking!'_

At least _he_ was eager.

Inside the hangar, Father Maloney, Easy Company's chaplain, was also offering his own encouraging words of faith. Hearing last minute prayers and scripture readings did help Marie feel a little more hopeful. Relaying on religion to calm her, she bowed her head and prayed along with the rest of the group surrounding Maloney. Maloney's voice was soothing and collected as he spoke. He pushed up his glasses at the bridge of his nose from time to time as he read from the Bible. Marie saw Muck, whom was a devoted Catholic, holding a rosary, lacing the beads in between his fingers. He saw Marie amongst the group and went over to her.

"Final chat with the Lord?" Muck asked her, he smiled but his voice sounded serious. He slipped the rosary in his pocket.

"Praying for everyone to have a safe landing," Marie whispered, trying not to interrupt Maloney's mini sermon. Marie glanced over at Maloney, "he's a good chaplain."

"He is," Muck agreed.

"Say, what's your favorite Biblical verse?"

_"_ _Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me._

_And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed but understand not; and see ye indeed, put perceive not._

_Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed."_

Marie was silent for a moment, taking in the scripture Muck had repeated.

"Isaiah 6:8 to 10," Muck told her.

"That's beautiful."

**0000**

General Taylor was walking around and offering encouragement and saying that 'they'd only be fighting for a few days, then they'd be going home.' Marie scoffed at his words. There was no way that Easy would be able to be relieved that quickly. They were Easy Company - the company that always got the short end of the stick.

Out on the airfield, everyone prepped their gear for the jump. Marie watched as Malarkey put on his gear, about sixty-five pounds of extra weight. She felt awful that the mortar squad had so much strapped onto them.

"What is all that, anyway," Marie asked him as they got ready.

"Uh, the bipod, base plate, tubes," Malarkey listed as he scanned his gear, "that's not counting the ammo, tools, weapons, and food. With everything that's almost two-hundred pounds I think."

"Two-hundred _pounds_? Is the Army crazy? Who sends men jumping out of planes with that much weight," Marie exclaimed.

Malarkey shrugged. "It'll be fine."

Malarkey eyes gazed over to find Emilia and Muck walking toward them. They would be boarding the C-47's soon. This was their last chance to say goodbye.

"I'll see you on the ground," Muck told Marie, pulling her into a tight hug.

"Keep her safe, Skip," Marie whispered, talking about Emilia.

"Yeah," Muck replied, whispering back, "you keep an eye on Malark, okay?"

Marie nodded in response, biting down on her lip.

Emilia and Marie then hugged goodbye. Marie didn't want to let go, she knew when she did they would be forced to go their separate ways.

"Everything will be fine, Marie. I'll see you in Le Grand Chemin, maybe even before that," Emilia said to her.

"You better be waiting there," Marie said.

Emilia only gave her a forced smile. No one could guarantee if they were going to make it.

With that being said, Muck and Emilia returned to their platoon. Marie looked over at Malarkey, feeling helpless. He gave her a weak smile, and continued to put on his gear.

Everyone was lined up outside of the planes. Marie glanced around, and saw that she was jumping as the ninth person in line this time. Lieutenant Lynn "Buck" Compton, a platinum blonde, huge college man with a cheery, snarky attitude was up front, leading them (along with Bill Guarnere.) Six days here, and Buck had already made friends with most of the company, including Marie and Malarkey. Malarkey and Toye were also on her plane.

She saw that Guarnere looked preoccupied. She wondered if Martin had found a way tell him about his brother, but she didn't want to ask. Marie studied each man that would be boarding with her. She carefully memorized their faces.

 _Dewitt Lowery, Salvatore Bellino, Johnny Plesha, Cleveland Petty, Edward Bernat, Earl Hale, Thomas Burgess, John Sheehy-_ Her thoughts were interrupted by Buck's order to board the C-47. With her heart in her throat, she walked onto the plane. Everyone was silent as they boarded. They all searched each other's eyes for relief, but were all met with similar feelings. There was no turning back now.

Buck was going down the line as they sat inside the planes, handing out airsickness pills. Malarkey had refused them the first few times, but Buck had ordered him to take them. Marie wasn't taking any chances, she swallowed the pills down right away, her face puckering from the chalky bitterness of the pill. The engine of the plane starting made her jump in her seat, making Toye give her a funny look. He was sitting right next to her, while Malarkey was a few seats down on the opposite side. She wished her dear friend was closer. Marie took a deep breath, unsuccessfully trying to calm her nerves.

Toye reached out and gripped her hand, a gesture that took her by surprise. She squeezed his hand in return, her uneasiness alleviating.

It was almost midnight and the plane had lifted off. Marie swallowed and closed her eyes. Once the plane was airborne it had all become official. She waited as the plane took them off into the unknown. Marie started singing _Come Josephine, In My Flying Machine_ to herself so she could calm down. She always sang that song as a child, and it often helped during the rough patches of her childhood.

She hoped it would help her now.

_'Come Josephine, in my flying machine_

_And it's up she goes, up she goes_

_Come Josephine, in my flying machine_

_Going up she goes_

_Up she goes_

_Balance yourself like a bird on a beam_

_In the air she goes_

_Up, up, a little bit higher_

_Oh, my, the moon is on fire_

_Come Josephine in my flying machine_

_Going up_

_All on_

_Goodbye'_

While singing to herself, she'd managed to drift off to sleep. Malarkey and Emilia's words echoed in her head: 'everything would be fine'. As her eyelids grew heavy, she believed them for a moment. The verses floated around her subconscious until she was finally able to fall asleep.

_All on_

_Goodbye_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come Josephine, In My Flying Machine - song and lyrics by Fred Fisher and Alfred Bryan


	9. Familiar Faces

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to my old Tumblr friend 'icanttellthemthatsir' helped me with the German translation for this chapter back in the day!

**Chapter 8: Familiar Faces**

_Normandy, France_

_June 6th, 1944_

Marie's eyelids fluttered open, she rubbed them drowsily, realizing that she was still sitting in the dark and noisy C-47. She looked down at her hand; it was still entwined with Toye's and clutching his for dear life. Her hand had become numb for holding his for so long, but she saw that he was asleep so she didn't want to move and disturb him.

Marie glanced around the plane seeing that most of the guys seemed content. Some were smoking, most resting their eyes, she saw that even Malarkey had fallen asleep, too. Dozing had helped ease some of Marie's anxiety, but she could still feel the bit of nervous butterflies in her stomach. It was either the butterflies, or feeling queasy from the airsickness pills; she didn't know which she'd prefer.

The plane began to jitter a little, making Marie hop in her seat. Marie shrugged it off as a bit of turbulence, and then shut her eyes to catch up on some more sleep. The sound of explosions and distant gunfire made Marie's eyes shoot open once again. Marie peered at the end of the seats to the exit where they'd be jumping out of. Buck was looking outside - flashes of red and orange reflected off of his pale skin, and mystified blue eyes.

Something bad was happening outside.

The plane jerked and rocked more, causing everyone to become violently stirred awake. The sound of the antiaircraft artillery was deafening, even more than the sound of the C-47's engine. Buck turned to the platoon of wide-eyed soldiers, and motioned for them to hook up. The red light suddenly flashed on; the sight of it made Marie's stomach drop to her knees. The plane was traveling way too fast to jump out at this speed, but the piolets were desperate to get them out. As the light turned green, solider after soldier leaped out the exit Marie saw Malarkey and Guarnere already jump out of the plane and disappear into the fray.

Marie's place climbed up in line when the plane lurched, knocking everyone over as they hung suspended by their hooks. For a split-second, Marie was afraid the plane had been hit. She gained her footing again then stood up, readying herself to jump out of the plane. Buck motioned her to move up, waving his hands frantically as she struggled her way up the line, dragging her hook on the static line. Staying on the damned plane was even more dangerous than actually jumping out into the artillery littered air.

Marie made it to the exit and peered outside. Bombs, fires, explosions, planes going down, and hundreds of men gliding down to the earth in parachutes – it was hellish, but poetic at the same time.

"You have to jump, Marie!" She heard Buck scream into her ear over all the noise.

Marie's feet were planted at the edge of the doorway, her eyes peering into the darkness that occasionally flashed with bouts of fire. Marie saw that the plane was losing altitude at an alarming rate. The lower the plane got, the easier a target it was for the Germans.

"Are we close to the drop zone?" Marie screamed back at Buck, trying to strain her voice over the gunfire.

"No! We've just passed Sainte-Mère-Église, but that doesn't matter! You have to go now!" Buck was ready to push her out if she didn't go.

Marie jumped out of the plane, waiting for the static line to open up the cover chute. Marie had so much adrenaline rushing through her veins that she almost forgot to count how long until the chute opened.

_One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi, four Mississippi…_

She felt herself being suddenly hitched upward, and prayed that a piece of shelling wouldn't hit her chute. She frantically glanced around, realizing that no one was landing around her; she could barely even see the ground as she approached it, her eyes squinting in meek desperation to see in the dark. She saw the light from the explosions reflecting off of something on the ground. She felt her heart skip a beat. It was water.

For a few agonizing moments of her descent, Marie thought she was going to land directly in the water. She thought of Malarkey, Muck and Emilia landing in the water, and drowning from being pulled under from all the weight they were carrying. She shook the horrific thoughts of death out of her head, and steered herself the best she could to avoid landing in the black and murky unknown. Eventually she hit the bank, her boots squishing under wet mud. She rolled off her ankle and landed softly on her side. She laid still a moment, drenched in mud, listening for close gunfire and voices from enemies lurking nearby.

When Marie thought it was safe, she stood up and packed her chute. She glanced around frantically, but even after all the studying of the maps and landscapes, everything appeared foreign to her. She had no idea where the hell she was, or if she was even remotely close to the DZ. Marie spotted some shrubs, and made her way over to them for cover. Hunched over in a hedgerow, she started to go over her limited options:

 _I'm stuck in the middle of nowhere with no weapons, no map, no one from my platoon, in the dark,_ she thought ruefully to herself.

Marie's heart hammered in her chest, as her head buzzed and her ears rang with tinnitus from the aftermath from all the noise from the plane and explosions. Her eyes were sharper than they ever had been before, and her instincts heightened while sitting in enemy territory in the blackness. She knew that she couldn't wait at this hedgerow forever - she needed to find some fellow paratroopers, and make her way to the DZ.

Her BDUs clung to her body with a mixture of mud and sweat. Even in summer, she never imagined France to be this hot and humid, she felt like she was trapped in Georgia all over again. She took out her canteen and hastily took a swig of water, forcing herself not to gulp it all down in one shot.

Unfamiliar voices were suddenly carried in the wind. She froze like a frightened rabbit, holding her breath.

 _"Ich dachte, ich hörte etwas."_ (I thought I heard something)

 _"Ich habe nichts gesehen. "_ (I don't see anything)

 _"_ _H_ _alten Sie Ausschau nach den Amerikanern_ _. "_ (Keep your eyes open [for] the Americans)

Marie listened to the voices pass by, growing further and further away.

 _Le Grand Chemin, 0700 hours,_ she reminded herself.

Marie stuck her head out of the hedgerow to make sure she was alone. She adjusted her helmet that was sitting askew on top of her head, and then hustled her way out of the hedge. Marie spotted some brush about ten yards from where she was standing, then scurried her way over to it, seeking refuge. When she got to the brush, she kneeled down again, making it a routine to stay as quiet as she could.

 _Buck mentioned Sainte-Mère-Église. That's miles away from the DZ. I hope I'm not too far off,_ she thought to herself, feeling worried.

If what he said was accurate, then she had a lot of walking ahead of her. She scurried out of the bush when she felt her foot catch on something. She started to tumble forward, but she caught herself in time before she completely toppled over.

 _Dammit!_ Marie swore to herself, glancing down at what tripped her.

It was a train track. Marie squatted down, looking at both ends of the track running in opposite directions. She had to pick a way to follow, but she wasn't sure which one.

 _Lord, I wish I could track like Em,_ she thought to herself.

Marie started following the tracks toward her left, hoping this decision wouldn't lead to a disaster. She trudged along until she started feeling her feet and legs started to ache. It vaguely reminded her of the great march to Atlanta that 2nd Battalion had to do. That felt like a lifetime ago.

Marie heard boots coming toward her. She immediately crouched down to the tracks. She saw a group of figures approaching her, counting at least five or seven of them. She knew it was too late for her to make a beeline back to the bushes, if she moved now they would notice her. The figures had stopped moving and looked startled like they'd seen her.

Marie gritted her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the worst to happen.

"Flash," a voice whispered through the darkness. The voice sounded familiar to her immense relief.

"Thunder," she called back with an equally lowered voice.

The figures appeared through the darkness, as they drew closer Marie stood up, trying to make out who it was. The familiar face of Dick Winters came into view, followed by some other men that were still too much in the shadows for her to recognize.

"Lieutenant," Marie exclaimed in a hushed voice, "boy, am I glad to see you!"

"Sergeant Docherty, it's good to see you safe. You alone?" Winters asked her, shaking her hand as they reunited.

"Yes, sir. I landed by some lake and made my way here," Marie informed him.

Marie peered over Winter's shoulder to see Lipton come into the dim moonlight. She smiled at the other friendly, familiar face.

"Lip," She greeted, shaking his hand, "I'm glad you made it down!"

"Likewise," Lipton responded, "you're not with 2nd platoon?"

Marie frowned and shook her head. Marie looked as the rest of the men came into sight. She didn't recognize any of them, they all looked like they were from different companies. Some of them weren't even from the 506th, some were from the 101st and possibly the 82nd. Marie wasn't positive, it was hard to make out details in the dark. One soldier standing in front she saw had the Able Company insignia on his helmet.

"Wow, we're scattered all over the place, huh sir?" Marie commented as she scanned over the other men.

"You have no idea," Winters sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. "We're miles away from the drop zone. We're about three-quarters of a mile east from Sainte-Mère-Église. That makes us five miles away from Utah Beach. I threw together this mixed unit, and now we're making our way to the rallying point."

Marie nodded in response. She was glad he knew where he was going. Marie looked back at the men, noticing that they were giving her bemused looks.

"So, it's true. the 506th _did_ allow girls into certain companies," one soldier said, giving her a strange grin that made her skin crawl with discomfort.

Another one smirked next to him, letting out a low chuckle.

"You lucky dogs must be enjoying a nice roll in the hay every night," he looked her up and down, his tongue curling with delight as his eyes roamed her body.

She hugged herself, trying to shield her body from their prowling eyes. Marie felt herself blush from embarrassment and shrink back. The strangers continued to smirk, except for the young soldier from Able Company, he stared at her with large and sympathetic eyes.

"That's enough," Lipton snapped, reeling his head around at the jeering men. They all fell silent instantly. "Sergeant Docherty outranks all of you, is that how you talk to an NCO?"

"Sergeant Lipton is right, show some respect," Winters added, eyeing the men with disappointment.

"Y-Yes, sir," they piped up nervously, snapping salutes.

As Winters and Lipton started to lead the way, Lipton squeezed her shoulder in comfort as he walked by, flashing one last warning glance at the other men. Feeling a sudden burst of boldness, she smiled at them and triumphantly, then flicked them the bird.

Emilia and Florence would've loved to see that.

**0000**

They marched along for about twenty or thirty minutes in the darkness, following the railroad. The longer the night dragged on, the more worried about her friends she became. With everyone scattered to the winds, she wondered if anyone would actually make it to the DZ in one piece.

"What's your name?" A soft voice said.

She looked up to see the private from Able Company staring back at her. The other men were avoiding her eye contact completely.

"Marie Docherty," She answered, extending her arm.

"John Hall," He said, shaking her hand.

He was about to open his mouth to say more, when a rustling sound came from the hedgerow on their left sides. Winters signaled for all of them to stop.

"Flash," Winters said into the shadows of the hedgerow.

"Thunda," A familiar voice replied.

A figure came out of the darkness, Marie recognized that it was Bill Guarnere, Joe Toye and Donald Malarkey followed him out.

Marie's heart did somersaults of joy to see her dear friend alive and well.

"Don!" Marie went over and wrapped her arms around him in excitement.

Their helmets clinked together as she made contact. Malarkey stumbled backwards, taken off guard as she threw herself on him.

"Marie! You're okay," Malarkey exclaimed as he got his bearings back, wrapping his arms around her as she clung to his neck.

Guarnere cleared his throat. They broke their embrace instantly. Marie felt like a fool for acting like that in front of Winters, her squad leader, and the rest of the guys. That wasn't how professional soldiers were supposed to act.

"Welcome back, kid," Toye muttered to her, tapping on her helmet as he passed.

She quickly caught up next to Malarkey, ignoring the sneers from the men that had tagged along with Winters. Marie caught up with Malarkey, who gave her his signature boyish smile. She took his hand by impulse and entwined her fingers with his, surprised once again by her boldness. She wondered if it was the endorphins effecting her assertiveness tonight. Malarkey didn't pull his hand away at first. He laced his rough fingers around hers, unbothered by the mud and sweat that had accumulated on her palm.

"I need both hands to hold my M1," he whispered to her apologetically, letting go of her hand, "we shouldn't let our guard down."

"Oh, right. Sorry," Marie apologized, quickly bringing her hands back to her sides.

"Will you two quit fraternizing, and catch up," Guarnere barked from ahead of the line. Irritation rang clear in his voice.

"Sorry about him. He just found out he lost his brother. You know he doesn't mean it," Malarkey mumbled to her.

Marie knew that his brother died, but she only nodded her head. Before she could open her mouth, the sound of neighing horses pierced the air.

"Lipton, go!" Winters signaled Lipton to go ahead, and take some men to see where the noise was coming from.

Marie was right on Malarkey's heels as the unit quickly made their way to a bush overlooking a street. Marie saw a group of Germans on a coach being pulled by some horses. Winters gave the signal to ready their guns.

Marie listened to them casually speaking German to each other, not expecting that they were right under some paratrooper's noses, about to be ambushed.

"Wait for my command," Winters whispered.

Without warning, Guarnere suddenly started shooting at the Germans, mowing them down and screaming with satisfaction with every pierced bullet. Marie watched him, stunned as he kept his finger on the trigger, pumping out round after round. Because of his impatience, everyone else had to start firing at the Germans. It was a massacre. The Germans bodies were falling over, horses were neighing in distress, and blood was splattering on the stone streets. Marie could only watch, wide-eyed in horror at the sight of the group of men getting killed.

"That's enough, Guarnere!" Winters yelled, pushing Guarnere's rifle down.

Guarnere looked relentlessly back at Winters, bloodlust radiating off of his body.

Marie's eyes were still on the dead bodies. She trembled as she watched blood seep from their bodies and continue to stain the pavement crimson. A wounded horse whinnied in pain as it struggled to stand up after being shot in the leg several times. The sound was torturous to the ears, not because it was loud, but because it was so heartbreaking.

"Everyone okay?" Winters asked, glancing around at the soldiers that were still huddled by the bushes. Some grunted 'sir' in reply, not sounding very convincing.

"Next time I say "you wait for my command", you wait for my command, Sergeant," Winters scolded Guarnere.

"Yes, sir," Guarnere answered testily.

A sudden gunshot made Marie nearly jump out of her skin. She whirled around to see that Toye had shot the injured horse, putting it out of its misery. Marie and Toye both locked eyes for a second in a mute understanding of grimness.

"Quaker," She heard Guarnere mutter as he continued to walk on.

Marie didn't like seeing Bill this way – so angry and full of resentment. Malarkey came up from behind, placing a hand on her shoulder. His touch startled her, making her whip her head around. He gave her a sad smile, and motioned that they should keep moving.

"What's that guy's problem?" Hall asked them in a low voice. He stared at the back of Guarnere's head as they cleared the area.

"Gonorrhea," Malarkey answered with Bill's nickname, questioning the young private if he was talking about him.

"Really?" Hall asked, surprised.

Marie couldn't help but suppress a laugh.

"His name, dummy. Guarnere - Gonorrhea, get it?" Malarkey replied impatiently.

"So besides having a shitty name, what's his problem?" Hall asked again.

Guarnere had heard him this time. He glared back at the young private. "None of your fucking business, Cowboy," he snapped.

Marie felt the atmosphere grow tense. Hall and Malarkey didn't say another word, and Marie didn't feel like she should open her mouth. Bill was really on edge after losing his brother, and Marie was afraid that if she added anything else to the conversation, he'd be pushed over the edge once again.

"All right, let's move out, quietly," Lipton ordered, trying to ease the tension.

"Sir," Everyone muttered in unison.

**0000**

They trudged along for hours, stopping and taking breaks every once in a while. Winters didn't want to stay idle for too long, so he kept the unit moving all the way until the sun started to rise. Marie's head was buzzing with fatigue as her muscles pulled, aching from walking for so long. The swampy area they were currently in was peaceful, but the mosquitos and no-see-ums were a terrible nuisance. Marie swatted at her neck as they bit and stung her, attracted to her sweat.

Guarnere was griping about Winters the entire time, complaining to Toye, who tried to debunk his theories on the Lieutenant. Marie started to grow grouchy from the lack of sleep, and from listening to Guarnere complain literally for hours. Malarkey and Hall walked in sullen silence next to her, their tense faces telling her that they felt the same way.

"You see him? He just sat there," Guarnere said to Toye, still talking about Winters.

"He didn't have a weapon, what's he gonna do, shout at them?" Toye retorted.

"Yells at me for killing Krauts."

"He just wanted you to wait for his command," Toye reminded his irritated friend.

"Joe, he don't even drink," Guarnere sneered.

Marie couldn't take any more of the banter, "I don't drink either, Bill," she cut in.

Guarnere and Toye looked back at the medic, surprised by her addition to the conversation.

"They were Germans, we were gonna shoot them anyway," Guarnere snapped, blowing off her comment.

"Orders are orders. Besides, what you did was out of anger, not the objective," Marie said, knowing that she should watch herself, but she was too annoyed to care.

"I don't need you gettin' on my case, too, okay?" Guarnere warned.

Marie only shrugged her shoulders, raising her eyebrows at him to test him if he'd go further. He grumbled and turned away from her, not wanting to deal with her mood. The short-lived confrontation only left her feeling more agitated.

"Watch yourself," Malarkey whispered to her, "I don't agree with him either right now, but he's still our squad leader."

"Whatever. Watching him kill those Germans was horrible and scary. I don't care how upset he is, there was no need for that," Marie hissed back.

"I shot at them, too."

"That was different, Don."

The unit came across an open area with an abandoned barn, and what looked like the remains of soldiers, both American and German, and equipment scattered about. Winters signaled everyone to stop and sent Lipton ahead to check if everything was clear. Lipton and one of the soldiers that had joined Winters and Lip, scouted on ahead. After waiting in silence for a moment, Lipton motioned to them that it was safe to proceed.

Marie looked up at the tree that towered above them on the vacant property. A dead paratrooper with a missing leg hung from the branches, slightly swaying side to side in the wind. She shuddered at the memory of Malarkey telling her that he'd almost gotten stuck in a tree during one of his practice jumps. This could've easily happened to him, although this poor soul had gotten trapped right above some Germans that had fired upon him while he was stuck in the tree.

"Anybody needs supplies or ammo, now's the time to get it," Lipton announced, kneeling by another dead paratrooper.

The group started to turn over the bodies and search for supplies, taking anything they could salvage. Marie decided she'd do the same. She searched one of the bodies for any medical supplies that she could add to her pack, while Malarkey rolled another body over.

"I promised my kid brother I'd fetch him back a luger. So, I got first dibs, okay?" Malarkey addressed the group. Malarkey looked over at Marie and a body she was crouched by, "check that one."

Marie nodded, rolling another body over, checking the pockets. "Sorry, Malark. No luck with this one."

The rumbling sound of a plane passing by made everyone flinch and instinctively duck for cover. Marie looked up at the sky as the plane zoomed by them.

"It's the Navy," Lipton reported, much to everyone's relief.

"The landings have started, let's go!" Winters ordered, already starting to move on ahead.

D-Day for Utah beach was officially a-go.

"Right on time," Hall commented, checking his watch.

"Yeah, tell that to him, Cowboy," Guarnere said, blazing past him.

"My name's Hall."

"That so?" Guarnere sneered, still walking on ahead.

Marie sighed, shaking her head. She wished that the old Bill would come back, this short-tempered version of Bill was really getting on her nerves.

"You just gotta learn to return his fire, is all," Malarkey told the young private from Able Company.

"Just gotta realize it ain't about you," Toye added.

They all started to follow Winters and Lipton. Marie walked behind Malarkey, feeling another wave of fatigue wash over her. She wanted nothing more than to curl up on the ground and go to sleep. She was almost too tired to even take part in the conversation.

"He just heard his brother-" Malarkey started.

"Malarkey, shut your yap," Guarnere demanded from ahead of them.

Malarkey paused a moment, waiting for Guarnere to be out of earshot before continuing on: "His brother got it in Cassino, found out before he jumped," Malarkey informed Hall.

Hall pondered this for a moment, finally coming to understand Guarnere's attitude. Hall didn't say anything else, afraid that Bill would hear him if he asked anymore questions. Instead he looked back at Marie, whom was struggling to keep her heavy eyelids open.

"If you don't mind me asking, ma'am, what made you join the front?" Hall asked.

"I wanted to help," Marie answered simply.

"You couldn't help in the hospitals? Or stay over in England? There are a lot of positions in the States that you could've assisted with."

Marie was used to this question, but she could never fully explain why she wanted to so desperately be a part of the war.

"Jumping out of planes is way more fun," Marie joked casually, "and besides, I wouldn't want to be anywhere without these guys." Marie said, while patting Malarkey and Toye on their backs.

Malarkey and Toye chuckled at her, and returned the gesture. Hall studied their camaraderie in awed silence.

"Aww, how sweet," Malarkey gushed, teasing her.

"What about your mother? I'm sure she's worried sick about you," Hall asked.

Marie's smile faded. Marie's posture grew rigid at the mere mention of her mother. The boys watched her carefully as she grew tight-lipped. Her mother was a sour subject she preferred not to explain; truth was she didn't even know _where_ her mother was.

"Pick up the slack, guys," Lipton yelled from ahead of them.

Marie was thankful for his interruption.

**0000**

The unit made it to a forest, and met up with some more Easy Company men, and more soldiers from other companies. They were getting close to the rallying point, but Muck and Emilia were still nowhere to be seen. Marie was growing less and less hopeful as the hours went on without a word from her dear friends. It was still quite early in the morning, but Marie was expecting the worst. Most of Easy Company, hell, most of the 2nd Battalion was still MIA.

As they reached battalion, the air was filled with the distant sounds of bombs and gun shellings from Utah Beach. There was barely a moment of silence in the French countryside; even the air smelled thick with gun powder and lead.

As they walked on, a group of German POWs was sitting on the sidelines in the woods. A lot of the men jeered at the captured enemy as they walked by, but Marie remained silent. Malarkey on the other hand was in a joking mood.

"Top of the mornin' to ya fellas, enjoying the war?" Malarkey jeered in a thick Irish accent.

The passing soldiers laughed, but the POWs only stared at him with emotionless, devoid eyes.

He leaned close to one of the POWs that was sitting closer to the path. "Where you from son?" Malarkey asked with a laugh and continued to walk on.

"Eugene, Oregon," the POW responded in perfect English.

Marie stopped in her tracks and looked back at the man, shocked by his American accent.

"Eugene? You gotta be kiddin' me!" Malarkey exclaimed.

Popeye Wynn walked by, Malarkey tapped him on the arm to get his attention, "Popeye, you hear this?"

Popeye only shrugged at him, not really showing any interest in a captured POW.

"I'm from Astoria," Malarkey turned his attention back to the captured German.

"You don't say," the soldier answered coolly.

"Yeah! Orange street. What gives, what're you doing in a kraut uniform?" Malarkey questioned.

Marie stayed back with Malarkey as the rest went on ahead. She felt anxious to keep moving, but she was curious as to why an American was fighting with the Germans.

The soldier mumbled something in German.

"Come again?"

"My family answered the call. All Aryans should return to the fatherland," the soldier said.

"You're shitting me, right?"

"Hey, Malarkey, Docherty, stop fraternizing with the enemy, get over here," Lipton called from up ahead.

Malarkey signaled him to go on without them, while Marie waved at him apologetically.

"What got you to Eugene?" Malarkey asked.

"I was born in Eugene."

"For real?" Malarkey smiled.

Malarkey sat beside the POW, carrying on a conversation with him as soldiers passed by, eyeing them with distaste. Right up ahead was Le Grand Chemin. Marie fidgeted awkwardly, waiting for Malarkey to finish up chatting with the enemy. Malarkey looked back at Marie's anxious face and knew it was time to go.

"Well, I gotta run, see you around," Malarkey said, sitting up and joining Marie.

"See you around," the man echoed distantly.

He gazed at Marie with a mild curiosity before she broke his stare by turning around and heading up to the rallying point.

"Small world, huh?" Malarkey said cheerily to Marie.

"Yeah…" Marie muttered.

She noticed Lieutenant Ronald Speirs heading towards them. She wondered why the 2nd Lieutenant from Dog Company was headed in the opposite direction, but Malarkey didn't pay him much mind when he stalked by. Marie's eyes fixed on his tanned, handsome face, streaked with dirt and paint. She continued to observe him over her shoulder, watching as he made his way to the POWs. They began to climb the hill when the sound of rapid-fired gunshots came from behind them. Marie and Malarkey whirled their heads around, looking back into the forest. Marie's stomach dropped. She knew exactly where the shots were being fired.

"Shit…" Malarkey whispered.

Marie and Malarkey headed to Le Grand Chemin without saying a word.

As the rallying point came into sight, Marie spotted Toye sitting against a slope of earth with a few other men. She made her way toward him, gently pulling her dazed Irish friend along.

"What took you so long?" Toye asked them, giving them a wry smile, meant to tease the two of them.

Marie rolled her eyes at him, knowing what Toye was thinking her and Malarkey had been doing in the woods by themselves. Malarkey sat beside him, nervously taking out his canteen and fumbling with the cap. He took a drink, his hands trembling.

Toye frowned, "you okay?"

Marie bit her lip, trying to decide whether she should tell Toye what happened or not. She sat beside Malarkey, while Toye still waited for an answer.

"You're not gonna believe this, Joe," Marie started, gazing over at her curious friend.

**0000**

Inside one of the tents, Winters met with the few members of Easy Company that were present, and was going over a battle plan with them. Surprisingly, Hall from Able Company was still present.

"The 88s we've been hearing were spotted in a field down the road a-ways. Lieutenant Colonel Strayer wants us to take them out., Winters explained, drawing out the formation with a pencil on a paper: "There are two guns that we know of firing on Utah Beach. Plan on a third and fourth here and here," he pointed to his drawing, "the Germans are in the trenches with access to the entire battery with machine guns covering the rear. We'll establish a base of fire, and fast with two squads of three."

"How many krauts they think we're facing?" Guarnere asked.

"No idea," Winters sighed.

"No idea?" Guarnere repeated, not looking too happy with their odds.

"We'll take some TNT along with us to spike the guns. Lipton, that's your responsibility," Winters continued, nodding over to Lip.

"Yes, sir," Lipton answered.

"Liebgott, you take the first machine gun with Petty, Plesha, and Hendricks, you take the other," Winters scanned the group, "who does that leave?"

Buck, Malarkey, Toye, Guarnere and Marie raised their hands. Hall did, too, but Winters seemed to blow over him.

"Okay, we'll be making the main assault. Understood?" Winters finished.

"Yes, sir," Everyone said in unison.

 _The main assault._ The words played over and over in Marie's head like a broken record.

"Sergeant Docherty," Winters voiced called her softly.

"Sir?"

"Do you have enough medical supplies?" He asked.

"Yes, sir. My pack is filled to its maximum."

"Good. You're the only medic present right now, so you need to be Johnny-on-the-spot when someone calls for you. It'll be a lot of running, and you need to expect wounds and casualties," he told her in a calm voice.

"Yes, sir."

Winters nodded at her. He looked to the rest of the men. "Pack up, boys."

Anxious butterflies fluttered around Marie's stomach in anticipation for Brécourt Manor. There were only thirteen Easy Company soldiers present. She bit her lip nervously, thinking about the how many Germans would be out in the field. They could easily, and mostly likely, be outnumbered. It was already known that they were definitely outgunned.

"You all right?" She heard a voice ask her.

She turned to see Lipton standing beside her, putting his helmet on.

"Yes, Sarge… I'm just scared," Marie told him.

"We all are. You need to get yourself ready. Brécourt Manor will be starting soon, it's already 08:30, we need to hustle," Lipton said, giving her a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

Marie went to quickly make sure she had everything. She double-checked her supplies, then uttered a quick prayer before joining the others outside of the tent. Outside she saw Barbara Goode standing close by, talking with some Dog Company men, her M1 slung over her shoulder. Her platinum blonde hair tied back in a tight bun.

"Barb," Marie called, waving at her.

"Marie," Barbara jogged over to her friend and hugged her.

"I'm glad that you've made it. Ready for Brécourt?" Barbara asked with a nervous smile.

"I guess. I'm the only medic so it should be fun," Marie deadpanned.

"Well, Dog Company will most likely be your reinforcements once we get word," Barbara paused a minute, something on her mind.

"What's up?" Marie asked her friend, puzzled.

"It's Diana," Barbara mumbled.

Marie went cold. She had a feeling that what Barbara was about to say, as much as she didn't want to believe it.

"Her plane went down. Her and a bunch of others are missing," Barbara's voice faltered.

Marie thought about everyone missing: Easy Company's CO Lieutenant Meehan, Emilia Valdez, and Skip Muck – not to mention most of the entire company had been miss-dropped God knows where.

"Private Goode," a Dog Company soldier barked.

"I have to go. Take care," Barbara said, pulling Marie into another tight hug before running off.

Marie stood still, unable to move by the news she gave her. She knew that there was very little chance that Diana Schumacher was going to show up; something inside her told her that her friend from Fox Company had perished.

She thought about Diana. She always wore her hair clipped up, her curls and pompadour hard to fit under her helmet. Diana was always the first to speak and stand up to someone if they said something unkind or unjust, her hazel eyes unwavering as she challenged her opponent. Diana, who was always respectful of her fellow paratroopers, and followed orders without question; she was what Marie pictured to be the perfect soldier.

Marie silently mourned the first causality of a friend, praying that she was wrong.


	10. Brécourt Manor

**Chapter 9: Brécourt Manor**

_Normandy, France_

_June 6 – 7th 1944_

Winters gathered everyone around the bushes and trees, so they could be hidden well from the Germans just over the trenches. To better Brécourt and aid in Easy Company's tactical strategy, Winters requested as much TNT and ammo as could be spared, but no word had been received from battalion. Frustrated, the small group of Easy Company and other soldiers had no choice but to proceed. Winters was visibly irritable and angry, something very unusual to see on a man with such a calm demeanor as Winters.

Marie's adrenaline started making her restless; although she was terrified, she was itching to get going with Brécourt Manor. The anticipation was killing her. The beautiful rolling hills had been replaced with an overflow of upturned dirt from dug-out trenches, cleared out trees, and the overpowering smell of cordite. She thought France would be beautiful, but instead saw this.

"Okay, just weapons and ammo, drop anything else," Winters ordered. He looked over at Buck: "Compton, second squad."

"Yes, sir."

"Okay, you heard the word, let's move, let's move," Lipton said in a hushed voice.

They ran across the trees and garden, with someone's farmhouse on the far side of the field, that was supposedly housing Germans. They took cover before the field, and watched as the Germans marched around, guarding their guns and trucks. Malarkey and Marie both took cover next to a large tree with Buck and Winters huddled beside them. Compton peeked out of cover, then drew his head back in.

"MG-42s," Buck reported, his voice hushed.

"I'll draw their fire from the right to the truck. Take two men and head for the left," Winters instructed.

Lipton and two men from other companies started shooting out into the field for covering fire. The Germans, now alerted, started to shoot into the trees where they were taking cover. Marie covered her head as bullets whizzed by, splintering the bark of the few surrounding trees. Buck chose Malarkey and Guarnere to go take out of the first gun. By instinct, Marie sat up and started to follow them.

"Stay back, Docherty!" Winters yelled over all the commotion.

She halted, doing as she was told. She desperately wanted to follow Malarkey, but Winters told her to stay put until it was safe. Marie followed Winters, Hall, Plesha and Ranney down the middle of the field, and into the nearby trench. Running out in the open was terrifying, Marie thought for sure that she was going to get hit, either by a stray bullet, or on purpose. As she ran, her heart felt like it was thumping in her head like a terrible, ominous drumming pulse the entire time. Part of her associated the thumping beat trapped in her head to the thunderous sound of the MGs being fired; she thought she was going deaf.

Buck's squad had started shooting from the right flank, drawing the attention of the Germans. When the fire had finally ceased (for a brief moment), it was time to make another mad-dash across the field and head closer to the MG-42s. Marie took a deep, shuddering breath, and followed the men across the field, sprinting as fast as she could. One German was no more than ten feet away from them as they quickly approached, but Buck took him out with his machine gun without a second thought. Marie had witnessed death plenty of times before because of her career as a nurse, but death in war was graphic and ugly, and something that still shocked her.

Malarkey and Guarnere were behind them, as the covering fire shot off when they made their sprint over to the trench. Malarkey pulled out a grenade and threw it inside the upcoming trench, two Germans were firing guns up at them from inside the trench. So much was happening at once that Marie couldn't wrap her head around every detail. She just followed everyone dumbly around the fray, praying for the best. Marie took a flying leap into the trench and landed roughly on her side, temporarily knocking the wind out of herself. She gathered herself, and noticed that someone was crying out in pain. Marie frantically glanced around, trying to locate the source of the cries.

"Who's hit?" Marie yelled out.

"Over here!" She heard Buck's voice call from a little further down the trench.

She ran over to see Robert "Popeye" Wynn, a short man with receding blond, wispy hair, and a rounded race, lying on his stomach, whimpering in pain.

Buck was standing protectively over him, reloading his rifle. "Where you hit, Pop?"

"I can't believe they fucked up my ass, sir," Popeye cried in his thick, southern drawl.

"Your ass?" Buck echoed, looking down at the soldier, slightly amused.

"Let me see, Popeye," Marie said, kneeling down beside him.

She took out a pair of scissors from her pack and quickly started to cut around the little hole the bullet left in the back of his pants,no time to spare his modesty.

She inspected the wound: "It's a clean shot, you'll be fine," she said, pulling out some sulfa powder from her pack.

She patched him up as fast as she could, bandaging the wound after applying the sulfa to the bleeding area. She quickly took out a syrette from her pack and gave him a small shot of morphine. Relief came almost instantly, Marie could tell as his tense facial expression relaxed.

"He's going to need to crawl back to battalion," Winters said to Marie and Buck. "Can you do that?" He addressed Popeye this time.

Popeye nodded. Buck and Winters helped him out of the trench while an escort helped him make it back. The two men were already making their way down the trench when Joe Toye caught up to Marie. They were on the move to the one of the big guns. Winters turned his head to order both Toye and Marie to keep going, when he saw a German grenade being tossed right at their feet.

"Joe! Marie! Look out!" Winters shouted.

In an instant, Toye wrapped his arms around Marie as he dove down for cover, practically flipping them both over to avoid the explosion. The grenade went off, causing dirt and dust to be kicked up all over the trench. Toye's body shielded her from the debris. They both sat up after it was safe, stunned, dirty, helmets knocked off, and ears ringing uncomfortably.

"Are you okay? Jesus, I owe you my life!" Marie said breathlessly.

He only nodded, looking dazed. His rifle took the brunt of the grenade, causing him to now be weaponless. Marie saw Malarkey further down the trench, looking at her with concerned eyes. Marie and Toye made their way down the trench, meeting up with Buck, Winters, and Malarkey. Marie was ordered to stay behind again as the men scrambled to the big gun and took it out. Marie waited, frustrated because waiting was all she seemed to be doing since the whole thing started. After it was safe, Marie followed them, keeping her ears out for anyone calling out 'medic.' There was so much chaos going on around her that it was hard to concentrate on multiple things at the same time. The group took cover under one of the big guns that now had a destroyed barrel, firing their weapons at the Germans, and getting ready to make their way to the next set of guns.

Malarkey started to reload his rifle hastily, and had his eyes fixed on a dead German lying across the field.

"I think one of those dead krauts has a luger!" He announced.

Before anyone could say anything, he bolted out in the open toward the body.

"Christ!"

"Jesus!"

Marie heard some soldiers exclaim as he ran out of cover. Marie couldn't believe that he was doing this just to get a luger.

"Don!" She screamed.

"Malarkey, you idiot! Get back here!" She heard Winters yell.

She never heard Winters insult anyone before, and by the raw lividity on his face, she knew he meant what he said. This was not a good day for Winters' mood. Marie watched Malarkey make his way to the dead German, she held her breath in fear the entire time, praying that he wouldn't get hit. He came sliding to a stop next to the body, and started to search.

"Now you stop firing?" A soldier exclaimed next to her.

She hadn't realized that the Germans had ceased fire when Malarkey ran out in the open.

"Christ, they must think he's a medic or something," Plesha exclaimed.

"He's gonna need a goddamned medic!" Guarnere snapped.

Marie's eyes landed on the farmhouse where most of Germans were stationed. They had huge machine guns ready to fire upon Malarkey as they came to realize that he wasn't a medic. Malarkey got up and dashed back toward cover.

"Run, Don!" Marie screamed again.

Marie watched in horror as the machine guns fired at him, missing him by mere centimeters as he ran, and dodged his way across the field. The men were all calling him back as he approached the cover of the 105 gun. Malarkey had made it by some miracle, and leapt back into cover, nearly crashing into everyone. Marie caught him by his uniform lapel, and pulled him up against the sandbags. She wanted to beat the hell out of him for what he did, but she felt too relieved that he was safe. She held him there with shaky hands, as he tried to catch his breath. She never wanted to let him go again. Guarnere was still firing at the Germans by the hedgerow. The others did the same, but the Germans machine guns still pounded against their cover.

"You get your freakin' luger, you stupid mick?" Guarnere shouted over the gunfire.

Malarkey didn't look like he took any offense, he still was trying to catch his breath from the near-death experience that he'd had.

"Never do that again," Marie said fiercely to Malarkey, pulling at his lapels and leaning close to his face so he'd understand the severity of what he'd done.

Malarkey's big, dark eyes only looked at her in shock, but she took it as a wordless response.

Winters ran over to them. They were all taking cover from the guns now, not firing at the Germans. They were ready to take out the next gun, but they needed the TNT, and were stuck in this position as the Germans continued to rain heavy fire on them. They ended up being stuck in the same place for about an hour. Marie watched as the boys fired their weapons, running lower and lower on ammo. Marie knew that they couldn't sit and wait too much longer, it was getting more dangerous the longer they stayed put. Marie started to worry about Lipton, she hadn't seen him since Brécourt started.

"Where's Lipton with that TNT?" Winters asked.

"Don't know, sir," Guarnere answered.

Winters climbed out of the trench and crawled away, disappearing from sight. 2nd platoon had no choice but to wait and stay in cover from being fired upon. They were stuck hiding from the Germans as their superior officer was gone, unknowing to them if he had been shot or not.

Finally Winters and Hall returned, carrying some TNT himself. Right when the small group had become relieved, Marie saw that Cleveland Petty had suddenly collapsed a few feet from them, taking a bullet to the neck, squirting blood out like a geyser. She dashed over to him, and pulled his limp body to cover. She pressed her palm up against his neck to slow down the bleeding, but she saw in his eyes that he'd already passed away. He didn't even have a pulse. She looked back at Winters, and shook her head sadly.

Hall and Winters went and took out the next gun, he had sent everyone off so they could get moving again. Marie was going to follow them when she saw two more soldiers collapsing in the field. Soldiers were getting injured all over the place, and she'd only managed to patch up Popeye so far. Despite what Winters told her earlier about being 'Johnny-on-the-spot' when it came to running and treating wounded soldiers, he had ordered her to stay behind for most of the operation. Another soldier collapsed right before he made it to the trench. Marie peeked over the trench and saw him lying face down a few feet from her. She pulled herself up, and swung a leg over to climb out of the trench, when she suddenly felt herself being pulled down.

"Stay down, Docherty!" She heard Winters say from behind her.

She turned and looked into his cyan eyes. She felt a bit of annoyance and defiance raising up inside her.

"But sir you told me to-" Marie started to protest.

"Just come with me!" Winters started to pull her along to the next gun.

Winters and Hall disabled it without a problem by shoving TNT down the barrel, but they all found themselves being pinned down by more German fire. Malarkey set up his mortar tube and fired round after round on them, with Buck doing the same.

Marie found herself waiting again, wanting to beg Winters to let her go back and at least give those men some morphine if they were still alive. But she knew Winters wouldn't let her. She knew he was just trying to protect her because it was too dangerous right now, but she felt like she was failing the men out there.

"Running a little low on ammo, sir," Buck shouted at Winters above the gunfire.

"How 'bout you, Malarkey?" Winters asked.

"Okay!" Malarkey replied, not taking his eyes off where he was firing.

"Think you got enough to take out the third gun?" Winters asked them.

"We'll soon find out, Dick. Malarkey, let's go. Toye, cover!" Buck ordered, taking Malarkey away to run to the big gun.

Toye shot at the Germans, drawing their attention away from Buck and Malarkey. Marie watched as they got pinned down again. There was only one more MG-42, but they kept getting stuck every time they got close to it. Marie felt someone tap on her helmet, she looked over to see Toye pointing in the direction where Buck and Malarkey had run.

"We're almost there, Docherty!" He yelled over the gunfire.

He grabbed onto her BDU collar and lifted her up to her feet. He led her all the way to the third gun to join everyone else. Marie let herself be dragged along, still feeling dazed by all the gunfire and constant activity. As Toye and Marie came to meet up, she saw by the expression on their faces that they were frustrated with being pinned down again.

"We've reached a stalemate. Hours of fighting, and we can't get to the last gun after knocking out all the others!" Malarkey told Marie, his voice ringing with irritation.

This was dragging on longer than they all suspected. As if on cue, Lieutenant Speirs appeared, along with some of his men and Barbara. He had ammo draped around his neck, and looked fiercely determined to reach the fourth gun. Barbara squatted beside Marie, a wild look of adrenaline in her pale blue eyes. Marie could barely recognize the girl that she'd come to know at Toccoa.

"I told you we'd be your backup," Barbara said to Marie.

Before Marie could even comprehend what was happening, Marie watched as Speirs led his soldiers right out into the open and toward the fourth gun.

In the middle of it all, Lipton had finally arrived, bringing the TNT at last. Marie was relieved to see that he was okay at least. Before she knew it, they started to withdraw, unable to get enough reinforcements to take out the rest of the Germans, and for running low on ammunition.

Brécourt Manor was a success, although Winters would have Easy return after a day's rest to finish the job. They stayed in the farmhouse for a day, picking off what they could and finalizing Brécourt. They had left with twelve German POWs. Easy Company had only two wounded and four killed, although Marie felt bothered by the four deaths because she felt that she could've _done_ something for them. Even poor Hall had been killed Winters would later tell her, only adding to her frustration of not being able to do anything to help. She thought of Hall and his large, sympathetic eyes.

Despite feeling bitter that Winters had held her back, Marie was just happy to still be alive.

Unfortunately, with war came terrible injuries. The garden and farmhouse that Marie had seen before their battle in Brécourt began did have French citizens huddled inside. During the gunfire, a twenty-four year old man had been shot in the chest. His parents and little brother fussed over him, panicked as they watched him bleed-out, unconscious.

Marie crouched beside his body, pulling apart his buttoned shirt to get a better look at the gushing wound. Winters stood behind her, watching the process with heavy-lidded eyes. The parents babbled in French, scared and crying, making it increasingly difficult for the medic to concentrate. Some soldiers had to usher them back as Marie cleaned and patched up the wound to the best of her ability with her limited supplies.

After wrapping his chest with gauze, she looked up at Winters: "That's all I can do, sir, he's going to need a hospital."

"Okay," Winters sighed.

Winters ordered his body to be evacuated to a hospital in England. She hoped he had made it in enough time to save his life.

**0000**

They were back with battalion in some abandoned, 'bombed-out village' as Malarkey described it. It was dark out, about 20:00 hours. They only had an hour of rest, and a limited time to get food before they were moving out again. Marie was inside one of the trucks under a tarp, joining some of the guys as Malarkey attempted to make them all something to eat. Marie hadn't noticed how hungry she was until Malarkey had started to cook the rationed food. It didn't smell very appetizing, but Marie was too starving to care. Her stomach growled with anticipation the whole time she was in the truck. Malarkey thumbed at his helmet that was sitting on his lap as he cooked their meal. She saw that he had a picture of Bernice tucked inside. Marie studied the photograph, feeling the familiar mixed feelings return. She shook the thoughts out of her head.

 _You're being ridiculous, Marie,_ she scolded herself.

"Jesus Christ, get me out of here," Liebgott grumbled, climbing out of the truck, his voice interrupting Marie's thoughts.

Guarnere quickly closed the tarp behind him. Marie guessed that he couldn't take the smell anymore.

"How we doin' Malark?" Guarnere asked, growing impatient.

Malarkey tested the food, bringing it to his lips and tasting it: "We're doing good," Malarkey showed the food to Buck.

"Doing good? How the hell do you know about cooking, you're Irish," Buck said with a smirk.

Marie couldn't help but giggle. She looked over at Lip whom was sitting next to her, but he looked strangely distant. It wasn't like him to be so quiet. Her smile faded as she studied him. She hoped he was all right.

"Sir, if you have a reservation someplace else, I'd be happy to go," Malarkey replied to Buck, pouring some of the stew in his mess kit.

He passed the food around, Marie held out her mess kit and watched as the food was poured inside. Marie couldn't tell if it was beans, or something mixed with beans, as she looked down at the brown, runny concoction.

All of them started to laugh, mostly at how bad the food smelled. Marie started to eat it quickly, not giving herself anytime to savor how it tasted. She was far too hungry to pay attention to the taste, she only needed something to fill up her pained stomach.

"See? She likes it," Malarkey laughed, pointing at Marie, shoveling the food to mouth.

"Jesus Christ, give me some air," Guarnere said, sticking his head out of the truck.

Everyone laughed again, all except Lipton. Marie watched as Lip held his mess kit in his hands, but he didn't eat.

Before Marie could ask him what was wrong, Winters stuck his head inside the tarp.

"Evening," He greeted.

"Hello, sir," Guarnere replied.

"Something die in here?" Winters asked, making a face. Everyone chuckled again.

"Yeah, Malarkey's ass," Toye joked.

The laughter erupted again, Marie almost choked on her food as she laughed along with them.

"Any word on Lieutenant Meehan, sir?" Buck asked, growing serious.

"No, not yet," Winters sighed.

"Don't that make you our commanding officer, sir?" Guarnere asked.

"Yeah, it does."

Toye extended his hand, holding a bottle of wine out to Winters: "Sir." He said, gesturing to him.

"The Lieutenant don't drink," Guarnere reminded Joe.

"It's been a day of firsts," Winters said, taking a sip of the wine right from the bottle, "don't you think, Guarnere?"

"Yes sir."

"Carry on," Winters told them. Everyone told him goodnight, "And sergeant-" Winters added, without fully pulling his head out.

"Sir?" Guarnere questioned.

"I'm not a Quaker," Winters said, leaving them.

Everyone erupted with laughter. In the middle of all the laughter, Marie turned her attention back to Lipton.

"You okay?" She asked him.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Docherty. Just exhausted," He replied in a tired voice.

"I don't blame you there," Marie chuckled, "you should get some sleep, Lipton. You worked hard out there, she patted him on the shoulder, putting her mess kit down.

"Damn, you really scarfed that down," Toye said to her, looking at her empty mess kit.

"Told you I was an all right cook," Malarkey chimed.

"Oh please. Docherty will eat anything you give her, Don," Buck said, winking at Marie.

Marie stuck out her tongue at him, but cracking a smile afterward, despite the innuendo that was coded behind his words. She rubbed her drowsy eyes, the heavy exhaustion returning.

"Time for some shut eye, huh?" Buck said with a smile.

Marie nodded, noticing that Lipton was falling asleep too. Marie leaned her head against Malarkey's shoulder, shifting in her spot to get comfortable enough so she could fall asleep. Everyone said their goodnights while Marie closed her eyes, feeling herself start to drift off to sleep. Marie couldn't help but think of Emilia and Muck. Them, and so many others were still missing from Easy Company. She wanted to talk about it, but she didn't want to bring up the subject and down the men's spirits. This had been the first time they'd had a laugh in days.

Some of the men fell asleep and started to snore. Marie was too worried to fall asleep right away, her thoughts still on Emilia and Muck, and on what Barbara had told her about Diana.

"Still not asleep?" She heard Malarkey whisper to her.

"I'm worried about Skip and Em," Marie responded in a tired whisper.

Malarkey was silent, Marie knew that he was dreadfully worried about them too.

"Barb told me that Diana's plane went down, there's a good chance she's dead. I'm afraid that-" She couldn't bring herself to finish her sentence. She let her voice trail off.

"I'm sure they're all right, Marie. There's a lot of guys still missing. They'll show up," Malarkey assured her.

"I hope you're right, Don," Marie whispered.

With that being said, Marie forced her eyes shut and struggled to fall asleep. She finally managed to fall asleep, she dreamed of plane crashes, grenades, and of Malarkey running out in an open field in the middle of crossfire.


	11. Vierville

**Chapter 10: Vierville**

_Normandy, France_

_June 6 - June 11th_

Emilia lay crouched in the grass, shaded and camouflaged by a large tree on the outskirts of Sainte-Mère-Eglise. Her dark-streaked war-painted face and olive drab uniform helped her blend in perfectly with the forest environment around her. She had remained pinned in the same spot for hours, and that entire time she had witnessed what she believed to be a massacre.

Fellow paratroopers who were miss-dropped had landed in the small French town, only to be sucked right into enemy fire; suspended from nearby trees and churches - making them easy targets for the German forces waiting below. Emilia could do nothing but watch, brandishing nothing but an M1911 pistol, she wouldn’t have been much help. She would've been captured or killed herself if she went rushing in, so her only option was to wait it out.

Now the morning sun was creeping in, lighting up the dark sky, and the Germans had started to move out. The town wasn't completely cleared, but it had thinned out enough for Emilia to finally feel safe enough to get moving. She kept herself amongst the tree-line, moving stealthy in the woods in order to remain undetected. Eventually she reached the outside dirt path of Sainte-Mère-Eglise and saw the fork-in-the-road. Luckily, Emilia spoke fluent French, just as she spoke fluent German and Spanish, so reading the signs wasn't an issue for her. She had jumped out of the C-47 with a map in her pant-leg pocket, and was so relieved to still have it with her.

Emilia unfolded the map and determined what the best route for her to take would be. The rallying point was Le Grand Chemin, which was south 425 kilometers away. The goal was to ultimately make it there, although doing so by foot wouldn't be possible. Seeing how far off she had been miss-dropped made her internally groan. At the fork she had the option to head south toward Saint-Nazaire, or take a slight left and head toward Caen. She decided to go south, which would save her time and miles.

She didn't get very far.

The sound of weeping made Emilia stop in her tracks. She lowered herself closer down to the dirt path, listening-in on where the source of the cries were coming from. She debated whether she should investigate, or just keep on walking. It could be a fellow American paratrooper who was hurt, or it could be… something else. Other voices started speaking, causing Emilia to nearly throw herself to the ground in a prone position to stay out of sight. She realized the voices were speaking English, and some of them sounded familiar to her.

"Blithe, c'mon, get outta there. We need to get moving."

Emilia definitely recognized that voice.

She decided to follow it, and came across what appeared to be a small mix of other companies, followed by two men from Easy Company that she recognized.

Floyd Talbert and Albert Blithe.

Talbert was perched outside a foxhole, trying to coax Blithe out, who appeared to be timid and weepy as he sat inside the foxhole, hugging his knees and refusing to look the Sergeant in the eyes. The other soldiers watched the conflict with tired and irritated eyes, looking just as frustrated as Emilia did when she realized how far she had landed from the rallying point. But seeing Talbert had made a wave of relief wash over her, and she felt happy for the first time in two days.

She approached the group, drawing the attention of some of the men. They watched her closely, stunned and speechless by this graceful and angelic woman who had came out of nowhere, streaked in war-paint and dressed in BDUs. Some of the men swore they were dreaming or hallucinating; seeing a mirage of a beautiful woman that could rank in the running with Rita Hayworth, Marlene Dietrich, and Ava Gardner.

"What're you boys up to?" She greeted.

Tab looked over at her, surprised to hear her voice and to see her standing before him. He straightened up immediately, feeling suddenly flustered.

"Emilia! I mean, uh, Sergeant Valdez! It's good to see you!" Talbert greeted.

"Likewise, I was afraid I wouldn't see a familiar face again," she admitted uncomfortably. Emilia wasn't a woman used to confessing fear, nor did she show it often.

Talbert glanced back at Blithe, whom still had his head down. The other men simply gaped at Emilia, still in awe of her presence. Emilia explained to them about the miss-drop issue, and how far they were from the original DZ. Everyone agreed that Emilia should scout ahead, since she was the one with the map and had the most experience with Intelligence.

As Emilia walked ahead, one of the men started making comments about her, much to Tab's annoyance. If he was physically drooling it would have been less conspicuous. She ignored him as she usually did when men acting this way about her.

"Take a look at that chest candy, eh?" The soldier from Charlie Company said lasciviously. "What I wouldn't give to have my face buried between her-"

"Private, that's enough," Tab cut off in irritation.

"Seriously? Do you not _see_ her? How does anyone in your company get anything done with that round behind walking around everywhere? I tell ya, if she was in my company, I'd-"

"I said enough!" Tab snapped, more aggressive than last time.

The group stopped, now drawn into the confrontation. Even Blithe seemed to be pulled from his dazed state to observe what was going on. Emilia couldn't ignore it any longer. She turned to face the soldier, who grinned with a noticeable leer, liking the attention.

"Say, where've you been all my life, doll?"

"Is that how you talk to a ranking officer, Private?" Emilia questioned, her eyebrows raised in annoyance.

"Oh, I'll serve under you anyday."

"Okay," Talbert sighed in irritation, now stepping in front of the lewd-speaking soldier. "Do you want us to court-martial you?"

The sound of distant gunfire quieted them all down. The source had to be about a mile away, or closer. The artillery fire was to their left, off the path. They all waited, holding their breath in anxious anticipation of whatever could come next.

Emilia wondered if it would be worth venturing off the path to see if it was some Ally troops who needed aid, or if they should keep walking down the path. If there were Germans, the handful of them couldn't take on an entire platoon by themselves. Since Emilia and Talbert were the highest ranking soldiers present, it would ultimately be their call. Emilia glanced over at him for assurance, and he seemed like he was conflicted with the decision as well.

"Well, Sergeant Valdez, what do you think? You have the lay of the land better than I do," Tab asked.

"If we head that way, the nearest town is Saint-Marie-du-Mont. It could be more paratroopers facing enemy resistance, and maybe there's even some from our own companies there. It's not too far off the path, we'd still be in the Manche department."

"Wait a minute, you don't actually want us to go over there, do you?" One of the soldiers piped up.

"If there's a chance there's more of our own there, then it would be smart to form a bigger group," Emilia answered evenly.

"There ain't no way in hell-"

"Well too bad, it's an order," Tab interjected. "Get your weapons ready if you have any, let's go see what's up ahead."

As the group trekked off path into the unknown, Emilia fell behind to walk beside Blithe. He hadn't said a word since she reunited with them. He stared ahead fearfully, his eyes glassy and damp with fresh tears. She tried to speak to him, but his mumbled replies were low and hard to hear. Eventually Emilia gave up and fell back in line with Talbert. She found him to be much better company.

**0000**

A few miles down the path the rest of the paratroopers from the 1st and 2nd battalion gathered around with what remained of Easy Company after Brécourt, which had grown overnight as more soldiers found their company in the town of Saint-Marie-du-Montafter.

Now mixed units from Able, Baker, and Charlie Company of the 1st battalion, were passing through a bombed-out village called Vierville.

Vierville was only 12 kilometers from Sainte-Mère-Eglise, and even closer to Saint-Marie-du-Mont. Marie and Emilia were close to each other without even knowing it, and yet were worrying that the other one was dead or injured. Vierville appeared to be a ghost town. Civilians had most likely fled, and there were no reports of German activity. Pathfinders had entered the town before them and had said there weren't any Germans present, but the companies were still on high-alert.

Lt. Colonel Strayer and Captain Hester wanted another reconnaissance patrol through Vierville, and wanted Easy Company to take point. Brécourt Manor had only been mere hours before, and the battle-worn company was already being sent on another mission that could possibly turn into a fight. Winters wasn't happy, Marie could see it on his face, but there wasn't anything he could do. Winters was still frustrated when he repeated the orders, and gathered the small group of Easy Company that were present in order to prepare for the worst.

"Let's hope there actually isn't any Krauts," Malarkey mumbled.

Marie stood beside Malarkey, her stance so close that Malarkey could practically feel her body temperature radiating off of her. After Malarkey had ran into enemy fire to check a dead body for a luger, she had been extra paranoid and careful with him. He smiled over at her, looking at her with silent admiration. He had the urge to reach out and grasp her hand, although that wouldn't be taken well with the officers standing around. Malarkey couldn't help but imagine how soft and nice her hands must've felt in that moment. Marie noticed him staring and looked back at him, returning his smile with a meek one.

"Okay, c'mon, Winters is-" Guarnere started, then stopped when he saw what the two of them were doing.

Marie's face turned scarlet. Malarkey rubbed the back of his head, avoiding eye contact with their squad leader. Guarnere watched the two of them with suspicion a moment longer.

"Winters is givin' out more instructions, let's go," Guarnere barked.

The three of them joined Winters again. Marie could feel Guarnere's scrutinized gaze on her the entire time of the briefing, and tried her best to ignore it.

"Okay, Welsh will be leading 1st platoon, Lieutenant Compton 2nd. And Rousch is in charge of 3rd. There hasn't been any Germans sighted in Vierville, but that could've changed, so I want everyone to be alert and focused. I want 1st platoon to be to the left of the path, and 2nd to be on the right. 3rd platoon will be in reserve with additional mortars for support just in case," Winters explained.

"Are we the only company going into Vierville, sir?" Buck asked.

"As of right now, yes. Companies A, B, and C had already went through the town earlier. I'm not sure what Strayer wants Dog and Fox Company to do just yet," Winters replied.

"So Easy Company is doing all the work again?" Liebgott asked, although to Marie it sounded more like a statement.

Winters didn't respond, but by the tired expression on his face, Marie knew he silently agreed with Liebgott. The beginning of Operation Overlord had only started yesterday, and all of them already seemed so worn from combat. Their chances of encountering Germans was slim, so they had that to look forward to at least.

As Easy Company made their way toward Vierville, the few civilians left they passed turned to flee and hide away in their houses. Soldiers in uniform marked the potential for another battle to them, so they hid away and prepared the best they could. The cobblestone streets echoed loudly with the marching of combat boots; the quiet made their marching almost deafening to everything else in the world around them.

Marie noticed something shimmer in a second-story window in one of the partially demolished buildings. She stared at it intently, squinting to focus better. The shine went away, then returned, almost glowing with the sunlight hitting it. As she marched, Marie slowed her pace, transfixed by whatever that was. In the window next to the mysterious shining thing Marie noticed a discarded parachute hanging from the window.

"Oh shit, GET DOWN!" Buck yelled, alerting all of 2nd platoon.

A shot rang out from the window, right as his words left his lips. The bullet struck beside Marie's boot, kicking up stones with the impact. She couldn't believe her naivety; she had been staring at the glimmering scope of a sniper and didn't even realize it.

The three platoons broke off the main road, running out of eyesight and taking cover behind anything they could find. As Easy Company scrambled to safety, the barrels of more guns stuck out of windows and began to shoot at them. The gunfire had been concentrated to one building, but the enemy had the tactical advantage with a higher vantage point. The gunfire was relentless enough for Strayer to see through his binoculars from half a mile up the road, and become panicked to send for help. He radioed Fox Company on Easy Company's left to help as they waited, shielding themselves from the barrage. As the anxious soldiers waited, they got a call from Fox Company reporting that they ran into German resistance as well. So Strayer committed, but Dog Company pinned down.

Marie huddled beside Malarkey, Guarnere, and Buck, holding her helmet down tighter against her head as each bullet struck the broken wall they were taking cover behind. Every time Guarnere and Buck tried to peek over to see exactly where the firing was coming from, more bullets made them hide away.

"Goddammit! We could take them out if we could see properly!" Buck swore.

Malarkey had started to set up his mortar, although there was nothing he could do right now. He'd be shooting blind if he tried to fire at the source of the gunfire. Every window from the building the Germans were holed-up in was releasing bullets furiously. Most of the mortars were still in reserves, further back from 2nd platoon. Guarnere got down in a prone position and started to crawl.

"Bill, where ya going?" Malarkey asked, bewildered.

"I gotta get to Luz so I can radio the targets!" Guarnere replied as he crawled toward 1st platoon.

"Wait, Sergeant Guarnere," Marie called, getting low and trying to reach for him before he exposed himself to the enemy, fearing he'd get hurt.

"Hang back, Docherty! I'll be right back!" Guarnere yelled over his shoulder.

She could do nothing but watch him hustle over toward George Luz. Marie watched him get on the radio, trying to contact 3rd platoon. Guarnere had a clearer line of sight in his new position, as he started to call out the targets in which windows the Germans were now shooting out of. Malarkey and the other mortar squads had started to prepare their 60mm to fire.

Easy Company had entered the supposedly "safe" town of Vierville at 06:00 hours, and help did not arrive until around 09:00 hours. 1st battalion came rolling in with tanks, helping the mortars finish off the Germans.

**0000**

Back in Saint-Marie-du-Mont, two German POWs had been captured after the fight. Emilia and the small group had arrived just in time to aid a group from the 502nd with taking the small town back. The Germans were on their knees, their hands behind their head as some of the soldiers circled around them. Emilia was the only soldier who could speak German, so the interrogating was up to her. As she squatted before the Germans and asked them questions, they refused to answer, instead leaning toward insults. Emilia wanted to get _some_ information out of them, especially since they would be walking down toward Le Grand Chemin into mostly uncharted territory.

" _Ich werde nicht nochmal fragen…" (I am not going to ask you again)_ Emilia started, sighing deeply in frustration from the POWs vague answers. " _Wo ist der Rest deines Regiments?" (Where is the rest of your regiment)._

There was only enough to be a small platoon present, Emilia didn't believe them when they said they were it. She didn't want to risk the possibility of walking into an ambush in the future. The only thing she had been able to gather from them was they were part of the 6th _Fallschimjager_ regiment, another paratrooper regiment in fact. Irritated, Emilia took a break to go review her map to double-check routes. Tab noticed her sitting by herself, and went and sat beside her.

"Any luck with the Krauts?"

"No, they were tight-lipped," Emilia sighed, staring down at her map.

"So, what happens now? Are you going to go back and try to interrogate them again?"

Emilia shrugged. "Not sure, what can I do exactly? They surrendered, it's not like we can torture them for information, that's against the Geneva Convention. All they told me was that they were part of a paratrooper regiment, and that they were all that was left. I'm sure that's a lie."

As Emilia studied the map, she determined possible alternative routes the small mix-matched group of soldiers could take instead of walking down main roads for safety.

She pointed to the map, gathering Tab's attention.

"Intersection D-913, Route Nationale 13. According to the 502nd that's a busy intersection for traffic, both our soldiers and Germans alike. I wonder if it would be a good idea to see if we can find any more members of Easy Company there? But it may be swarming with Germans," she explained.

"Dead Man's Corner, huh? That's what one of the guy's from the 502nd called it," Tab replied.

She looked over at Tab for affirmation, but his baby-blue eyes stared at her in wonder instead. Talbert was amazed by Emilia, and even more so after the past few hours of being reunited with her. She had great leadership skills, kept calm in combat, handling snags with grace, and even now she was trying to make the best decision based on keeping the men safe. Emilia touched her cheek and felt around her paint-streaked face, trying to figure out what he was looking at.

"What?" Emilia questioned softly.

"I just think you're incredible," he admitted.

Just like the night before they flew into Normandy, Floyd Talbert had left her speechless once again. Emilia was surprised that this man had that effect on her, to stun her with kindness and his genuine nature. The two locked eyes for a moment, although it felt like an eternity.

Tab eventually found the courage to lean in, and she let him kiss her. Her previous worries about fraternization melting away.

**0000**

Colonel Sink had set up a makeshift HQ in the farming hamlet known as Angoville-au-plain, just south of Vierville. Easy Company had finally gotten a break on June 8th after back-to-back battles in Brécourt Manor and Vierville. The small farming community had an abundance of wine, much to the men's excitement. Winters was far from pleased when the soldiers started to get drunk, but no one could deny that the temporary merriment was a good boost for morale.

Marie lay on a pile of hay, grateful that she found something softer than the ground to rest on. Malarkey had been drinking wine as he sat beside the hay, talking loudly with the rest of 2nd platoon. She thought about Emilia and Muck as they celebrated loudly.

She hoped that they were alive and well, perhaps celebrating with alcohol in a quiet town in another part of war-ridden France. She thought about Barbara, and how Dog Company had encountered resistance trying to come to Vierville to aid Easy Company. She thought about Diana's plane going down two nights before, and thought about the likely possibility of her being dead, along with their missing CO Meehan. The unpleasant thoughts swirled in her mind like a destructive tornado, and she was powerless to stop it. Even with Malarkey's flushed, smiling face beaming up at her with drunk admiration, she still felt a coldness in the pit of her stomach because of the unknown.


	12. Battle of Carentan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to my history Beta Byron.W4 for some additional historical facts!

**Chapter 11: Battle of Carentan**

_Carentan, France_

_June 12 – 16th 1944_

Marie watched the fields pass by as the truck drove Easy Company to their next destination. She felt eerily calm as she gazed upon the endless orchards that passed by; every once in a while the shattered remains of artillery or a dead animal would be splattered across the green, reminding Marie that they were all still in the middle of a war zone. There was a nice summer breeze that day; the smell of grass would make her feel nostalgic about back home. She could picture her father mowing the lawn and barbecuing outside.

Sometimes the breeze carried the pungent odor of death along with it, too, making Marie cover her nose in disgust from time to time. It was a grim reminder that she was a long way from home, no matter how real the memories felt.

"France is beauty and the beast," Malarkey said to her, acknowledging the same sights she was observing.

She gave him a small smile, letting him know that she was listening.

"Other than all the death, this place really reminds me of Willamette Valley. I used to watch sports there in the fields all the time while hitchhiking from Astoria to Eugene," Malarkey smiled fondly to himself as the memories played in his head.

"Feeling homesick?" Marie asked him softly.

"Nah – it's just… in the States, just as we were all coming of age and getting comfortable with school, girlfriends, jobs, along came a war," he sighed. “In France, just when we were all getting comfortable with war, along comes reminders of home." He gestured to the fields.

"You're bumming me out, Malark," Toye interjected, half asleep.

"Did More tell you what we found?" Malarkey said, suddenly going off topic.

"What?" Marie questioned.

"Back in Normandy we came across some bags in some liberated French village. We were mostly looking for candy bars, but inside we found some pink baby bootees," Malarkey explained.

"So?" Toye shrugged, uninterested.

" _So,_ Alton is married, Joe. His wife just gave birth to their child when we first arrived in England," Malarkey added: "He started cryin' when he saw the bootees."

"Damn… I had no idea," Toye muttered.

Marie didn't say a word; she knew the point Malarkey was trying to get across. Things were hitting too close to home lately, and everyone was having a hard time adjusting. The story was a humbling reminder of what was waiting back home for them. Marie tried to think of something other than the chance that More could die and never meet his newborn daughter. She shuddered at the thought then went to focus her attention back on the field.

Dead livestock came into view, slaughtered by bullets. The torn-up flesh smelled rancid, and filled the air with its stink. Marie covered her nose with her BDU collar. Her BDU was still caked with dried mud from the jump into Normandy two days before. Covering her nose was of some relief at least – she preferred the smell of mud to the smell of rotting flesh.

"I think we're all feeling a little homesick…" Malarkey sighed deeply.

"What do you miss most about home?" Toye asked him, trying to lighten the mood.

"Uh, I dunno. I guess I miss the food. I miss Bernice, basketball, singing with my fraternity choir, my family, obviously. Ya know, stuff like that," Malarkey replied.

Toye nodded at his answers. He looked over at Marie, whom was still staring off at the scenery.

"Hey, Doch."

"Hmm?"

"What do you miss most about home?"

Marie thought about her life before the war. It was hard to think back before Toccoa. It's like the life before she enlisted was starting to fade away; simply slipping between her fingertips. Easy Company was slowly becoming the only thing that mattered to her.

"Well?" Toye said, raising his eyebrows at her prolonged pause.

"I miss listening to my sister sing in the church choir. I miss playing baseball with my brother. I miss my dad's cooking, and my bed," she yawned, "I miss a good night's sleep. And being able to read books regularly."

"Hmm, interesting," Toye said, looking a little puzzled by her answers.

"What?"

"It's just… I thought you'd miss dresses, makeup, cooking and stuff like that. Like bein' a girl," Toye explained.

Being a girl.

Marie was never a girly-girl growing up. She never really had the opportunity to learn how to be like other girls. She was always so caught up with her schooling, and helping her father care for the family. Marie wasn't very domestic, either. She was terrible at cooking, no matter how many times she tried. It's not like she had a mother around that could teach her those things.

"I never really got into any of that stuff, and I'm a horrible cook," Marie laughed, remembering all the meals she'd try to make in the past.

"You’ve never mentioned your mom," Malarkey pointed out.

Marie felt herself stiffen. She didn't answer; instead she looked back out at the orchards, trying to imply that she didn't want to talk about her mother. Just like when the topic was brought up on the _SS Samaria_ and in Normandy: Marie avoided the subject like the plague.

"Marie?" Malarkey queried, leaning over to his side so he could look at her face. She ignored his stare, focusing only on the land. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just tired," she replied curtly, still not looking at him.

'Just tired', the perfect excuse getting out of anything. Lord knows that she had to use that line to get out of conversations like this more times than she could count. More dead livestock passed by the truck, making the beautiful scenery become tarnished once again. The smell and scenery was like some terrible form of irony or a forewarning to what was approaching.

Malarkey decided not to push Marie for an answer about her mom. Although the more she didn't answer, the more curious he became about it.

**0000**

Carentan was a small town of only four thousand people. A few of the companies, including Easy Company, were waiting around for orders outside of the town. Marie, Malarkey, Luz, Perconte, and a few other guys were all sitting under a large stone monument. Marie lied down next to Malarkey on the steps of the monument, staring up at the blue sky as time ticked on. No one knew what was happening yet, they weren't sure if they were passing the small town, or taking the main road toward Cherbourg.

Malarkey and Toye were cautious of Marie's mood after her refusal to speak of her mother on the way. She remained mostly quiet, and so did they. She didn't mind the silence; she found it more comforting in times like these.

Malarkey pulled the cigarette from his mouth, wanting to break the awkward tension. 

"Want a smoke, Marie?" He asked her.

"No thanks," she replied.

"You don't smoke or drink, how are you able to stand all this?" Perconte asked her in a tone of disbelief.

"I don't know," Marie said with a shrug, "I just think things out instead of trying to forget them."

It was a lie; she disliked cigarettes and alcohol for deeper reasons than she could tell him.

"That must be frustrating," Perconte answered, arching a thick brow at her.

"You have no idea," Marie chuckled.

She closed her eyes, letting herself bask in the sunlight. She felt like she could drift off asleep again, but a voice shook her out of it.

"Hey, fellas!"

Marie's eyes flew open, she recognized that voice. She turned her head to see Talbert leading some men over to where they were resting. There was someone else Marie could almost make out; she shielded her eyes from the sun to get a better look. 

It was Emilia.

Emilia's face was still streaked with paint from the jump and dirt from her journey. She looked strangely beautiful with the marks on her face. The darkness on her face made her eyes seem bolder, also complimenting her darker shade of skin. Some of the men from other companies whom had never seen Emilia stared at her, admiring her beauty, mostly in awe. Emilia strode past them, proud and confident, holding her head high. Talbert walked beside her, stealing glances at her in admiration. Their arms were locked together as they strode toward Easy Company, but Talbert pulled his arm away to wave the members of Easy Company over toward them.

"Emilia!" Marie shouted happily, bouncing up onto her feet and taking off in their direction.

She collided into her friend in a tight hug, laughing with relief that Emilia was alive. It had been three days since she'd seen her last, and the entire time she feared she was dead.

"Whoa! You almost knocked me over!" Emilia laughed, pulling Marie back and clutching onto her shoulders. "Calm down!" She eyed her overly excited friend, quizzically.

"I thought you were dead! You didn't show up where the rest of us were, I was worried."

"Worry-wart," Emilia teased. "We were miss-dropped and had to make our way back here. It just took a long time."

"Yeah, most of us were scattered to hell and back like sticks in the wind. We honestly wouldn't have made it here without Em," Talbert told Marie.

He gazed fondly at Emilia as she spoke, and she returned his look. Marie noted the silent exchange, but said nothing to break the moment.

"Well look who decided to show up. Floyd!" Luz called, making his way over to the group. Luz and Talbert both shook hands, giving each other a pat on the back.

"Thought we'd never find you guys. Well, until we ran into Emilia," Talbert said.

"Hey, Tab," Liebgott called, unfolding a Third Reich flag to show him, "get a load of this, real nice huh?" He showed everyone his newest souvenir, proudly.

The men continued to catch up. Marie and Emilia made their way back to the monument. Emilia stopped walking for a minute, and tugged on Marie's sleeve.

"See the guy laying down?" Emilia whispered. Marie looked over toward Malarkey and Perconte, a blond-haired soldier was lying beside them, his eyes shut in the sunlight. "He's an odd one."

"What's his name?" Marie asked, mildly curious, "I think I remember him from Toccoa, but I don't remember his name."

"Private Albert Blithe. He just stares out into nothing from time to time. He's really quiet, teary eyed, and jumpy. A bad combination," Emilia explained, a hint of reprimand in her voice.

"Oh, come on, it can't be that bad," Marie dismissed.

"I'm serious. He travelled with us the entire time. We found him hiding in his foxhole, not even trying to find his way around," Emilia shook her head, "I do remember him from Toccoa, he's always been… off. But in combat he seems even worse."

Marie rolled her eyes at her friend, thinking that she was being overly critical. She went over and returned to her seat next to Malarkey. Emilia did the same, greeting Perconte and Malarkey, and eyeing Blithe with uncertainty.

"Got any souvenirs, Em?" Perconte asked.

"No, sorry Frank," She answered.

He showed her all the watches he'd collected. Blithe looked disturbed by the fact that Perconte was taking the watches from dead soldiers. Malarkey took a drag of his cigarette, not listening to the conversation. Marie laid herself back down on the steps beside her smoking friend.

"Still no Skip," He mumbled.

"He'll turn up," Marie tried to reassure him, but her voice didn't sound confident.

"Meehan's still missing," Malarkey added.

They both laid there in silence, until their break time was interrupted.

"Let's go! 1st platoon! Easy's moving out, on your feet!" Welsh shouted.

Everyone stood up to listen and gathered around Welsh for the briefing.

"Listen up, it'll be dark soon. I want light and noise discipline for now on. No drinking, no smoking, and no playing grab fanny with the man in front of ya, Luz," He said, staring over at Luz.

The men sniggered. Marie and Emilia cracked a smile, glancing over at each other.

"So, where we headed, Lieutenant, huh?" Someone asked from amongst the company.

"We're taking Carentan. It's the only place where armor from Omaha and Utah beach can link up and head inland. Until we take Carentan they're stuck on the sand. General Taylor is sending the whole division."

They already started to prepare to move out, separating into their platoons. Marie didn't want to leave Emilia after finally being reunited with her, but she made her way back to 2nd platoon, watching Emilia fall in line with Tab and the rest of their platoon.

"Remember boys, give me three days and three nights of hard fightin', and you will be relieved," Luz said in his best General Taylor impersonation.

"1st Platoon, you fall in behind Fox Company, you people from 2nd platoon, follow us," Welsh finished.

Now everyone started to get up and leave.

 _Fox Company, maybe Diana will be there,_ Marie thought, trying to hang onto the little hope that she could still be alive.

It was still somewhat possible, not everyone was located yet.

"Another thing to remember boys, flies spread disease, so keep yours closed," Luz piped up again in General Taylor's voice.

On the move again, they made their way over to the road that would lead them into Carentan. Marie remembered the scenery and smells of their trip here, making her stomach stir. She felt anxious and uneasy, like she did before Brécourt Manor. She swallowed the feelings down, attempting to keep them at bay, as they approached their next objective.

The cheery mood would evaporate after the sun started to set. Fox Company, who was ahead of Easy, had gotten lost while following Easy Company into Carentan on Nationale 13. After crossing the Douve River, the company got trapped in a swampy area. Losing Fox Company had gotten very much on everyone's nerves, including Welsh's who now only had Dog Company in reserves to support hem. Although no one wanted to admit it, the reason Easy Company was so efficient in the dark was because of Sobel and those Friday night marches he made them go on.

Easy Company wouldn't say it out loud, but for once they were thankful for some of the torture Sobel had put them through.

**0000**

It was now D-Day plus six, and the actions toward taking Carentan were still underway. Marie lay on the ground, next to the dirt path as she stared up at the small town ahead. It seemed eerily quiet as they all waited in their positions. Marie stared at the large _Café_ building, feeling the usual anxious butterflies in her stomach. She was getting tired of this assignment, they'd been going nonstop for days now, and it was really starting to wear on her and the rest of the men. She'd patched up so many bloody soldiers that she was afraid they wouldn't have any left by the time this whole thing was over.

Easy Company was explained that the Germans wanted this small town because they needed to bridge their troops from Omaha and Utah beach. Easy Company, along with some of the other companies that followed, spent the days camped out on the roadway by Douve River. She hated staying there, early in the morning horrible piercing sounds of sirens would wake them all up, followed by the sounds of Stuka's bombing Carentan. They all took cover in ditches, waiting for it to pass. Now everyone was gathered for the big attack. F Company was on the left flank, and D Company was in reserve. Marie saw Barbara again before they'd gotten into position, looking worried but eager to get this started.

Over the past few days Skip Muck had finally reunited with Easy Company, much to Malarkey and Marie's relief. But Diana Schumacher was still missing.

Harry Welsh went ahead and moved 1st platoon up. Marie caught sight of Muck and Emilia, praying that they'd be okay. All four of them were finally back together again, she didn't want that to be taken away already. Before she knew it, the Germans started firing their machine guns down the middle of the dirt path. Much to Marie's horror, mortar fire mixed in with the rest of the bullets. Everyone sprang for the trenches, trying to shield themselves from the oncoming fire. Everyone was now in a panicked frenzy. The Germans had split up the platoons right down the middle and now had them all in a perfect position to be wiped out. Marie joined the rest with digging their foxholes deeper with her hands, trying to get lower to protect their heads from getting hit. It was the heaviest gunfire Marie had ever experienced to date, and Easy Company hadn't even had a chance to fire back.

"Get those MGs moving, will ya?" Strayer shouted over all the gunfire.

The MGs were right out in the open. Marie watched as no one moved, everyone stayed down in the ditches, digging deeper in a panic.

"Move out! I said move out! Let's go!" Winters started hollering.

Buck joined in trying to get everyone moving up to take cover in Carentan, but still everyone remained still, frozen in fear. Marie couldn't bring herself to stand up in the middle of the gunfire and mortar fire. Her legs felt too weak to support her body.

Winters continued to yell, looking angrier than Marie had ever seen him before. Finally, Marie forced herself up and scrambled forward, her heart stuck in her throat. She felt like she was going to die at any moment as she blindly ran forward. She took cover behind an unmarked building, almost slamming into it full force. Marie frantically looked around, she realized that her and Malarkey had gotten split up in the whole barrage. She felt horribly alone without him in this heavy fire. Marie glanced across the building, next to her cover she saw Lipton and Perconte taking cover behind a building parallel to hers. A soldier standing by them had gotten shot and now was lying on the ground, motionless.

Marie went to check on the solider, but Lipton held his hands out signaling her to stop. The man was already dead. Marie felt sick to her stomach as she waited until it was safe to cross over. Lipton gave her the all clear and she quickly dashed over to his side. Marie's knees gave out on her, her fear overcoming the objective. Bile rose in her throat, but she swallowed it down. She felt Lipton lift her up, he held onto her shoulders tightly, studying her eyes with a gentle approach like a doting father.

"Are you okay? We can't stay here, Docherty," he told her softly, "these men are depending on you. You need to get your act together."

Marie only nodded, unable to bring herself to speak. Perconte tapped her on the back affectionately before taking off out of cover. Marie peeked out from behind the building, enough to see Welsh throw a grenade in a window, taking out some of the German artillery. She glanced around and noticed Shifty pinned against the wall, soldiers dropping like flies all around him. She felt her heart tug for him as his life was at risk from his current position. It was too dangerous for him to snipe anyone from his current position.

"Guarnere! Clear that sector on the right!" She heard Lipton yell, making his way over to a set of outdoor stairs that would help give him a better view of Carentan.

She watched as he made his way down the road, tripping slightly as he tried to duck after the sounds of bullets and mortar fire roared overhead.

"You okay, Shifty?" He called.

Shifty gave him a nervous thumbs-up, his hand trembling.

A bullet whizzed past Marie's head, missing her only by a foot. She jumped, and moved out, knowing that if she stayed at that position any longer she'd most likely be shot. She ended up running and joining Shifty; not the safest place to be, but she didn't want to be out there by herself.

"How you holdin' up?" Shifty asked her, raising his voice over the gunfire.

"So far so good! I can't find my platoon anywhere, though! The Germans split us right down the middle!" Marie replied, her voice straining over the thundering sound of exploding mortar rounds.

"Medic!" Someone suddenly screamed in the distance.

Marie squinted, trying to see who was screaming. She started forward, but she felt Shifty grab her elbow with his free hand.

"You can't run out there!" He exclaimed, giving her a bewildered look.

"I have to!" Marie riposted, yanking her elbow out of his grip.

She felt bad being short with someone as kind and somewhat shy as Shifty, but her patience had worn too thin, remembering how often Winters had held her back during Brécourt. She dashed out from cover, trying to pinpoint where the screams were coming from.

"MARIE, LOOK OUT!" She heard Shifty shrilly scream from behind her. She turned her head toward him, but before she could see him an explosion hit nearby.

She was sent flying backwards, her feet knocked out from under her; her vision blurred and her hearing deafened. Everything happened too fast for her to comprehend. Dust and debris kicked up over her as she felt herself go airborne and land harshly on the unforgiving ground, and skid to a stop. Bright lights flooded her vision, leaving only white. Her ears could only hear high-pitched ringing that drowned out everything else. She rasped for breath, as her lungs burned and her abdomen and back screamed in protest as she attempted to suck in air. Her muscles convulsed violently as she tried to move and lift herself up.

 _Oh, my God, I'm hit!_ She screamed over and over again in her head.

Her vision adjusted again, she could see the clear blue-sky overhead along with the tops of some buildings that surrounded her. The ringing slowly began to cease; she could hear muffled screams and mortar fire around her once again. She sat up slowly, feeling her heavy head spin with agitation and slight nausea. She started to cough, her throat filled with dirt and dust, all the while noticing that she was covered in it as well. Her head throbbed as she touched it gingerly, noticing a trickle of blood running from her forehead, running down her face like warm soup. Her helmet had been knocked off during the whole barrage.

Shifty was kneeling in front of her, looking dreadfully concerned, his mouth was moving but Marie couldn't fully make out the words. She felt her senses slowly come back, along with the rational fear of being out in the open. She started to struggle toward her helmet. Shifty clutched her hand and shook it, trying to get her attention. She looked into his young face, blankly.

 _I wonder if I have a concussion,_ she thought mildly to herself.

"Marie! Marie! Please say something! Are you all right? Marie!" Shifty pleaded over and over again.

Marie's muffled hearing subsided. She shook her head as she felt herself regaining her clarity.

"Y-Yes… I'm okay! I'm okay!" She responded at last, shakily standing up with Shifty's help. "I need to find the person who was calling for a medic."

"You're in no condition for that! I need to get you out of here!" He said, still holding onto her.

She reached down and retrieved her helmet and placed it back on her head, ignoring his warnings.

"Marie!" He shouted again.

"I'm not wounded! You need to take cover, and I have to do my job!" She replied, starting to turn on her heel but he stopped her.

"You were just almost hit by a mortar round! And besides, Bull already took care of the wounded man!" Shifty explained.

Another round hit close to them, making them both lose their balance and fall to the ground as the Earth shook below them.

"We can't stay here!" He grabbed her and dragged her back to cover.

"What happened to the soldier?" Marie demanded.

"Poor soul got his leg blown off," Shifty answered.

"They got us zeroed! Spread out!" Marie heard Lipton bellow out to everyone.

She saw him on top of the staircase, waving his arms in the air like a lunatic. She felt her stomach drop. This was bad, very bad. She wondered how long she'd been out of it - she hadn't even noticed that Lip had been yelling the entire time. Lipton started to run down the stairs, waving everyone off, screaming loud enough for all of Carentan to hear him. Marie and Shifty started to make their way out of the area, listening to his orders without hesitation. She turned her head to see Lipton standing out in the open, still carrying out his desperate message.

"Get the hell out of there! Get the hell off the street!"

Marie saw a group of Germans loading up an 88mm. They were aiming it right at Lipton. She felt her heart freeze. She stopped following Shifty, and ran into Lipton's view.

"INCOMING!" She shouted at Lip, pointing at the 88, but it was too late.

The round was fired only a few feet away from him. He was sent sailing backwards as if someone had hooked him with a fishing line and was reeling him in. She watched as he flew against a building wall and slump unmercifully to the ground.

"Carwood!" She cried, dashing over to him as fast as her wobbly legs could carry her. She came sliding to a stop beside him. She saw that he was staring at her, panting heavily, his eyes wide and alert. That was a good sign.

"Lip!" She heard someone else yell. She turned to see Talbert making his way over to them. She turned her attention back to Lip, whom looked like he was in shock. She saw that a piece of shrapnel had left a large gash across his cheek.

She saw Lipton look down at his lap, she followed his gaze and saw that he had a puddle of blood pooling in between his legs. She glanced over at Tab whom looked back at her tentatively, biting his lip. She couldn't spare Lip his modesty with this one. She started to tear open his pants, but she felt a wave of embarrassment wash over her. She had to look away, her face hot. She never felt like this toward other male patients, but she knew Lipton well enough for her to feel awkward. Tab peered inside his ripped pants instead, and nodded at her for the all clear.

"You're going to be okay, Lip. Everything is right where it should be," Talbert assured him.

Lipton nodded, relived, but still too shocked to speak. Marie mouthed "thank you" to Tab whom nodded at her in response. She took out a cloth from her pack and wiped off Lip's face, his gash was deeper than she thought. She cleaned up the cut the best she could with the supplies that she had then bandaged it quickly.

"You're doing just fine, Lip," she cooed softly, patching him up and checking his body for other injuries. She gave a thumbs-up to Tab.

"I'll take him back to battalion," Talbert told her, helping Lipton up.

Marie nodded: "Take good care of him, Tab!" She called after him.

Marie ran back deeper into the town, spotting Emilia and Edward Tipper about to enter what looked like an antique shop. She was relieved to see Emilia unharmed.

"Em!" Marie called. Emilia whirled her head around.

"Marie!" Emilia aspirated, jogging up to her friend.

"Any wounded here?" Marie asked, scanning the area.

"No, but what the hell happened to your head?" Emilia exclaimed.

Marie touched the side of her forehead, still feeling the wet warmness of blood, and how it had streaked down the middle of her face. It didn't feel painful, but it must've looked worse than she thought. She was about to explain when the building that Tipper went into exploded, sending both Emilia and Marie to the ground with a harsh thud.

"Jesus!" Emilia cried, getting right to her feet to stare at the now ruined shop.

Marie sat up slowly. She noticed movement from within the shop, and miraculously saw Tipper come out, running on pure adrenaline.

The sight of him made Marie's stomach lurch, but she fought not to make a face and scare him. His face was covered in blood, and half of his left side now looked slightly disfigured, drooping like someone who just suffered a stroke. It was a miracle that he was standing, his legs looked severely torn up and so did his feet, hell, the sides of his shoes looked like they were completely blown off. Marie glanced over at Emilia, whom gaped at him in pure horror.

Joe Liebgott was standing by. He was the first to approach Tipper. Marie watched as Lieb expertly put on a relaxed face, soothing the severely wounded soldier. Marie marveled at him, thinking that he should've been the medic. She shook herself back to reality and crouched beside the both of them. Lieb cradled Tipper in his arms, softly telling him that he 'looked good', 'was doing fine.'

Lieb and Marie both locked glances. He knew that Tipper's condition didn't actually look good, he looked like a walking corpse. Marie started going through her pack, forcing herself to smile for Tipper's benefit.

"Hang in there, Tip. I've got some morphine for you. It'll take all the pain right away," she took out a syrette and jabbed it into his upper thigh.

His wounds were beyond what her limited supplies could fix. He'd have to be taken back to battalion, and would most likely be taken to a military hospital and shipped home. The war was already over for him. Lieb watched her, his eyes neutral and battle fatigued. Carentan was already taking its toll, and Marie felt had been almost unconscious during most of it because of that mortar round that had knocked her over. She took out some gauze and started wrapping up Tipper's more serious wounds, applying pressure to stop the bleeding before he was taken away. Marie watched as he was escorted off, Liebgott following in tow. She walked over to Emilia, whose eyes were following her wounded friend. They stood side by side, not looking at each other.

"I was going to follow him in there. I told him it was too risky to check," Emilia said in a hollow voice. Her lip trembled as she spoke to Marie.

"It's not your fault, Em," Marie replied, softly. She placed a hand on Emilia's shoulder, who jumped at her touch. Marie motioned for the both of them to keep moving, it wasn't safe to stand out in the open – this was becoming more and more apparent.

Marie and Emilia ran around a corner, and saw Easy Company's chaplain, Maloney, saying prayers to a group men wounded lying on the ground. Gunfire surrounded him, but he looked so casual and leveled in the middle of the chaos. Marie was about to make her way over to them, when she heard some familiar voices call her name.

"Marie, Emilia!" Muck signaled her over, they were standing under the cover of a slight underpass.

Malarkey was standing by him, staring over at Maloney in wonder. Marie ran over to join them, bringing the nearly unresponsive Emilia with her.

"How you ladies holding up?" Muck asked, smiling nervously at them. His smile faded when he saw the look on Emilia's face. "What happened?"

"Tipper was hit. It's bad," Emilia replied, her voice low.

Malarkey stared over at Marie, she gave him a weak smile. His eyes fixed on her forehead and face. He reached up and ran his thumb gently across her forehead, down to her temple. She cringed at the slight pain that shot across her head from his gentle touch. He studied her BDU, it was covered with debris and dust from head to toe.

"What happened to you?" Malarkey asked, almost demanding.

Marie didn't want to tell him, she knew he'd chew her out for what she'd done: running out in the open and letting her guard down. She tried to brush off his question, pretending not to know what he was talking about, but he could always see right through her.

"Nothing happened," She lied, although the blood streaked down her face was enough to give it away.

"We need to keep going. It looks like we're finally pushing these bastards back a little bit," Muck said, peering out of cover. "Em and I need to find 1st platoon anyways."

"Marie-" Malarkey started.

He gripped both her forearms, not letting her leave. She struggled, knowing that they needed to move out. She hated it when Malarkey did things like this at the worst times.

"Let's not do this now. We have to go," Marie said through gritted teeth.

"Go on ahead, we'll catch up, Skip," Malarkey told his friend.

Muck nodded, and brought Emilia along with him. She wished that they would've stayed behind, but she knew that Emilia was too dazed after what happened to Tipper to do anything to help her anyway. Marie avoided his gaze, not wanting a lecture. It was just a little scrape, not a big deal at all. Malarkey was just being over-protective. He released one of her arms and tilted her helmet up.

"Damn, Marie…" He whispered, studying her forehead.

Marie felt her heart speed up, she hadn't seen her head yet, she was afraid that it was worse off than she thought.

"You need to patch this up right now."

"How does it look?" Marie asked him in a nervous voice.

Malarkey didn't answer, prolonging her anxiety. He released her helmet then gripped her arms again. His worried eyes made Marie feel guilty. If the same had happened to him, she'd have felt the same way.

"A mortar almost got me. I was thrown a few feet, but I'm fine. The same thing happened to Lip, he's fine too," Marie explained quickly, trying to make it out not to be a big deal.

Malarkey didn't respond, he worked his jaw in thought, his eyes laced with concern. She stared back at him, hoping she looked confident enough for him to drop the issue.

"I'm taking you back to battalion to get that checked," he finally said, pulling her along.

**0000**

Back inside the battalion med station, Doc Roe checked over Marie, and cleaned up the blood on her face. To her relief, she didn't have a concussion, just a bad gash on her forehead. She was able to go around and help patch up wounded soldiers. She went around and made sure some of their legs were elevated, made them proper tourniquets, and disinfected freshly open wounds. She was happy to finally be of use, she felt since the war started she hadn't done much for the effort other then run and circles and almost get blown up.

She noticed Albert Blithe sitting on the floor, his back leaning up against the wall. She gazed at him quizzically as he stared into nothing. She thought to herself that maybe Emilia was right about him. She saw Roe nearby and tapped him on the shoulder.

"What's wrong with Blithe?" She whispered.

"I dunno, he came in here claiming that he couldn't see anything," Roe shrugged.

"Out of nowhere?" Marie was skeptical of Roe's words.

"Just like that," Roe said, snapping his fingers.

Marie thought it over for a minute. She remembered hearing about something like that called "hysterical blindness" in the classroom lectures back on Toccoa. Roe didn't look like he believed Blithe at all, but hysterical blindness could be a possibility.

"Maybe it's hysterical blindness. Enough psychological and emotional-trauma could've triggered it. It was pretty hectic out there," Marie suggested.

Roe nodded, agreeing with her: "I thought that, too."

Before they could go on, Winters came gimping in.

"Are you okay Lieutenant?" Marie asked, coming over to his side to help him stand upright.

"Yeah, I took a ricochet near my ankle," he said, gritting his teeth as he walked.

Roe helped him sit down on a makeshift bed so he could examine his leg. Marie saw the pieces of shelling sticking out of his skin. It looked deep, but not bad enough to where he'd have to be shipped back to England.

"What happened to your head?" Winters asked Marie.

She automatically brought her hand to her forehead. Roe had cleaned it up and slapped a big band aid on it, but it still stuck out like a sore thumb. She felt self-conscious of how noticeable it was.

"Uh, nothing, sir. A mortar round just knocked me for a loop," She answered.

"That's not nothing," Winters retorted. He grimaced as Roe started to carefully remove the shelling from his leg with tweezers. "You need to be more careful out there, Sergeant Docherty."

"Yes, sir," she felt herself become irritated again.

The same thing happened to Lip, and she's sure to other soldiers out there fighting. They were welcomed with sympathetic words, while Marie was just scolded and babied for being careless.

"I'm going to check on Blithe," she said, dismissing herself.

She kneeled in front of Blithe. His eyes didn't seem to catch her presence at all. She went through her medical pack and found a small flashlight.

"How are you doing, Albert? I'm Marie Docherty, I'm gonna take a look at you, okay?" She told him in a soft voice.

Some tears rolled down Blithe's face. "Okay…" He muttered.

She shined the flashlight at his pupils, waiting for them to dilate. His pupils reflexed to the light, but Marie was already expecting that since his retina and optic nerve wasn't damaged as far as she could tell. She brought up her pointer finger, and moved it back and forth in front of his eyes, but his eyes did not follow her finger. He just kept staring straight ahead, into nothing.

"Am I going to be okay?" He whispered.

Marie didn't know what to say. There was no cure or treatment for hysterical blindness. It was usually temporary and all that could be done was to wait it out.

"I'm sure you'll be just fine, Private. All you need to do is relax," Marie cooed, gently running her hand through his bangs that hung in front of his forehead. He flinched when she first touched him, but seemed to calm down after a few moments.

Buck entered then, and went over to see Winters. Marie and Buck both nodded at each other in silent greeting, before she turned her attention back to her blind patient.

"Battalion wants us to hit east and head up to high ground the set up a defensive position," Winters told Buck.

Marie listened in, turning her head to see Roe doing the same thing. They'd been in Carentan for days, and all she wanted to do was leave.

Eventually she stopped listening to their conversation and focused on Blithe. He was still blind, no matter how much she tried to help him relax he didn't seem to snap out of it. She overheard Winters say to Roe 'magic treats him?' She knew he was talking about Blithe. Winters sat up, Roe finished treating his wound. Winters limped over to Marie, and patted her on the shoulder. She looked up at her CO's kind face.

"May I have a minute with him?" He asked her in a hushed voice. She nodded, standing up and letting Winters kneel beside him.

"You can take a break, Docherty," Roe spoke up from behind her.

"If anyone needs a break it's you," She told him.

"I'm right behind you," He assured her, "Spina is taking over in a minute, along with another medic from Fox Company."

She nodded, and decided it would be a good idea to get some fresh air and check up on Emilia. She left the med station and went to find her friends.

**0000**

Despite all their efforts, the siege of Carentan still wasn't finished. Marie had found Emilia and was able to coax some of the shock out of her. She'd never seen Emilia so down before, but seeing a good friend get hit that bad would never come easy, even with all the training they'd endured. Marie imagined if Em, Muck or Malarkey had gotten hit like that. The very thought made Marie shudder and want to vomit. If any of them died, she'd never be able to get over it, and that scared her. This was war after all; any of their lives could be taken at any moment.

The sun was high as the long day dragged on. Marie and Emilia sat with Muck, Malarkey, More, Penkala and Blithe. Having some R&R after the fight today was much needed and appreciated. They sat outside, the bright sun shining down on them to the point where it almost felt harsh. Marie could already feel a sunburn forming on her pale cheeks. She watched as Muck unwrapped a packet of cheese and went to take a bite, waiting to see what he thought of it before she tasted her own. The men were talking about the possibility of getting to Berlin by Christmas, but Marie didn't think the war would be over that quickly. Wishful thinking like that could be dangerous.

Muck gagged on the cheese, sticking his tongue out in disgust. Marie couldn't help but laugh at his reaction. It had been a long time since all four of them got to truly laugh together. It felt blissful, like the old days.

"Enjoy it while it lasts," a new voice cut in. Everyone stopped laughing and turned to see Lieutenant Speirs standing before them. Marie stiffened instantly, remembering the day when her, Malarkey and the POWs. "We'll be moving out soon," the mysterious Lieutenant informed them.

"Moving out of town, Lieutenant, already?" Malarkey questioned.

"That's right," Speirs replied, walking past the group.

Marie stared up at his tall figure, entranced but also slightly afraid by his presence. She saw Emilia doing the same, her mouth slightly agape.

"Don't they know we're just gettin' settled here?" More interjected, annoyed by Speirs' news.

Speirs stopped walking and turned around to face More. His steely gaze made a chill run down Marie's spine. He glared for a moment longer then continued to stalk off to wherever he was headed.

"Nice, Groucho," Muck said to More flatly.

"What?" More replied defensively.

"Real smart. You know you're taking your life in your own hands. Ain't that right?" Muck told him, looking over at Malarkey for confirmation. Marie nodded at Muck, letting him know she agreed with his statement.

"What are you talking about?" Emilia asked, confused.

"I told you, we didn't actually see it." Malarkey answered, giving Marie an uneasy stare.

She gulped, the memory flooding back to her. They explained to Emilia about how Speirs gunned down all those POWs after he'd given them each a cigarette, a few days back on D-Day. There were disputes to whether he really did it, or if one of his men did it. The rumors sounded hard to believe, Muck being one of the ones whom didn't think he did it, but Malarkey thought he did.

Whether he did or not, they would never find out. Speirs would take the truth to his grave.

"Well whatever he did, he's handsome as sin," Emilia commented, ending their arguing.

Marie couldn't help but crack a smile at her words. It was true, Speirs _was_ attractive to the point where it seemed deadly. He had a nice rugged quality to him, but Marie was still a little afraid of him. Ronald Speirs wasn't her type, anyway.

"You're smitten with Speirs?" Penkala asked her incredulously.

Emilia rolled her eyes: "No, of course not. He's just easy on the eyes is all."

Marie gave Emilia a devilish smile. She knew who Em was really sweet on, she could tell whenever Tab was around she _looked_ at him differently, and he did the same. After years of Emilia taunting Marie about Malarkey, it was finally her turn.

"Yeah, Speirs isn't your type. We all know who you're into," Marie added, smiling impishly.

Emilia shot her a baneful look. The boys stared back and forth between them, as Emilia glared at Marie openly, and Marie held onto her mischievous smile. Marie was ready to open her mouth and reveal Emilia's little secret, but Em raised up her hands to quiet her down.

"Oh God, we aren't going to sit here and talk about school girl crushes, are we?" Muck said, over-exaggerating a groan.

"You're not a little bit curious?" Marie asked him.

"Well, if it's one of the guys, maybe," Muck admitted, giving Emilia a teasing smile. She sighed, shaking her head at them.

"Who is it?" Penkala asked Emilia.

"Whoever he is, he's one lucky bastard," More muttered, giving Em an amused smile.

Before anyone could say another word, Welsh's voice filled the air, commanding 1st platoon to move out. Marie watched everyone get up, waving goodbye to Muck and Emilia. Blithe didn't move though. He hesitated, his movements slow to react.

Finally, he followed the rest. Marie shook her head as she watched him, Malarkey standing beside her, his gaze following hers. He nudged her gently in the forearm, cocking his head in a different direction.

"We need to go," he told her.

She nodded and followed him to 2nd platoon's position.

**0000**

The gunfire on the outskirts of Carentan forced them to take cover in the hedgerows. It was now nighttime and Easy Company was still stuck waiting outside in the dark. Marie's stomach growled loudly as she sat in her foxhole, listening to the distant occasional shots from German gunfire, and to a few of the men singing cheerily. The sky lit up with lightning every once in a while, followed by booming thunder that made Marie jump, thinking it was a bomb. She had no idea what the guys had to be so cheery about. They were stuck out in an unknown field outside Carentan, sitting in the dark while Germans shot off weapons nearby.

She got up from her foxhole, feeling that she needed to stretch her legs. She massaged her kneecaps, trying to spark life back into them. The Germans were waiting toward the south, regrouping and prepping for battle to fight for the small town back. At dawn, they would strike. Marie hoped that this would be the last time they'd have to fight in Carentan. She was rapidly growing qualmish of this town. She started trudging through the grass, thick with dew and dampness from light drizzle earlier. The mosquitos were out in full force tonight, much to everyone's irritation. She smacked at her neck as they bit her countless times; there was no way she could stay still the way they were swarming in the fields. She stumbled around, blindly, focusing most of her attention on escaping the little buzzing vampires.

Marie lost her footing for a moment, almost stumbling fully into a foxhole. She found her balance, perched on the side, almost completely sliding in. She startled both of the soldiers inside; she could see them, dimly, ready to draw up their rifles.

"Docherty? Jesus Christ, don't do that," she heard Martin's voice grumble from below.

He drowsily wiped his eyes as Marie climbed into the foxhole, trying not to bump into the other soldier. She noticed that Blithe was with him, and he was crying again.

"Sorry, Johnny," She whispered apologetically.

"Whatcha doing wandering around here? You're pretty far from your platoon," Martin asked her, shifting in his spot to get more comfortable.

"The singing was getting on my nerves a bit. I'm not feeling happy enough to join in. Not to mention these mosquitos are just awful tonight," Marie told him, still scratching at her bitten-up neck.

He nodded sleepily: "You should get some rest, we have a big day tomorrow. At the crack of dawn, you know the krauts'll be stirring us awake."

"I don't think I can sleep knowing the Germans are so close," Marie admitted meekly.

"It'll be fine. Blithe's keepin' watch," Martin assured her.

Marie looked over her shoulder at the teary-eyed shoulder, staring off into the darkness. Marie didn't feel very confident with Blithe keeping watch; she didn't know how Martin could fall asleep so easily. This was a man that randomly went blind, after all.

"Medic!" Someone cried in the distance.

Marie was immediately on her feet. She looked back at Martin, whom shrugged unknowingly but looked alarmed. She jumped out of the foxhole and went off to find who was screaming.

"Where are you?" She called, squinting her eyes in the darkness.

She saw a few figures gathered around a tree, and someone slumped over to the ground. She jogged over, clearing out the crowd so she could get a better look.

It was Floyd Talbert.

"What happened?" She demanded, turning her head to look at the men standing idly by.

One was rambling on hysterically, saying that he 'thought he (Talbert) was a kraut' over and over again. She noticed Lieb amongst the crowd, he slowly kneeled beside her.

"Kid thought he was a kraut," Lieb whispered to her, "he got stabbed by his bayonet a few times."

Marie didn't like the sound of the situation. Talbert was gored by their own, and in the chest too. She tore open his clothing, straining to get a better look at his wounds. There were two wounds, one high near the sternum and another lower by the abdomen. She went through her pack as quickly as she could, taking out bandages, gauze and sulfa powder. She cursed herself for not having a flashlight in her pack anymore, trying to patch up the wounded in the dark was very difficult.

"How long has he been laying like this?" She asked Lieb.

"Uh, I don't know. Just fix him," Lieb clipped, on edge because of his nerves.

"Liebgott, it's important that I know! Puncture wounds have to be bled out for a minute before they can be treated so the wound can clean itself out," she replied evenly, trying to keep the situation calm for Tab's sake.

Talbert sat there, leaning against the tree, whimpering in pain.

"Yeah, I'd say it's about five minutes," Lieb answered.

Marie then proceeded to clean out his wounds. Preventing infection was her first priority when it came to injuries like this, applying pressure and stopping the bleeding came later. After she cleaned them out, she wrapped him up with gauze and bandages, making sure they were tight enough to halt the bleeding.

"You're doing just fine, Tab. The wounds look almost superficial, so you should be just fine," Marie assured him in a soft voice.

Honestly, she wasn't sure if he was going to make it, medics could never be too careful. But she didn't let the uncertainty show in her face or her voice.

"Em's going to be upset," he rasped.

Marie pursed her lips, knowing that he was right. Emilia had just witnessed Tip getting seriously wounded, and now Tab was going to be taken off the line for stab wounds.

"I'll take care of her," Marie told him. "You just worry about getting better."

She heard quick footsteps approaching; she looked to see Roe coming up at them, holding onto his helmet as he ran.

"Whatta we got?" He asked, instantly at Tab's side, and studying Marie's treatment techniques carefully.

Marie explained everything to him, and before she knew it they were loading Tab up on a jeep to be taken back to battalion, where he'd be shipped back to England for treatment. She felt a weight in her stomach, knowing that she'd have to confront Emilia with the news.

**0000**

Morning signaled that another battle was going to commence. It was now D-Day plus seven, and Marie couldn't believe that a week had passed since they'd all dropped into Normandy. The days seemed endless and bunched together the longer they were all stationed in the dismal town of Carentan. Everyone lay on the outskirts of Carentan, getting their ammo ready for another attack.

Marie had managed three hours of sleep, but it was a restless and unsatisfying. She kept thinking of Emilia's reaction when she told her the news about Tab. Marie planned to tell Em right when she woke up, not wanting to put it off any longer. She saw Em gathered around with Welsh, going over maps, routes, and possible strategies with him on today's attack. Donald Hoobler sat on stump beside them, humming to himself as he reloaded his sidearm. Marie waited awkwardly behind the hedgerow, stalling for as long as she could.

"No, we don't know what they've got. We may be attacking a weaker force, possibly more paratroopers," Welsh explained to them, studying the map that Emilia was holding out for him. He noticed Marie standing by, and acknowledged her with a welcoming smile.

"You know how they can be," Hoobler added (talking about paratroopers), receiving a few smirks and laughs from the nearby soldiers.

"What brings you to 1st platoon?" Welsh asked the nervous medic.

Marie smiled thinly, her eyes falling on Emilia: "I just need to speak to Sergeant Valdez, sir."

"Make it quick, I've got to finish briefing these guys" Welsh told her.

"What's going on?" Emilia questioned her, cocking her head.

"Well…" Marie paused, biting the inside of her cheek.

She hated doing this right now, Emilia had been so distant since she witnessed Tipper's _almost_ demise. Now she had to tell her the man she possibly had feelings for had been shanked by one of his own guys.

"Talbert was wounded by a bayonet last night. One of the jumpy Privates mistook him for a kraut. He's patched up and has been sent to the hospital," Marie continued on, quickly spilling out her sentence.

Emilia didn't respond, she gazed at Marie with heavy eyes, and then looked back down at her map.

"I see," Emilia replied in a low and mechanical voice.

"Jesus! He gonna be okay?" Hoobler asked Marie.

"Yes," Marie lied. Truth was she had no idea what Tab's condition would be.

Welsh gave her a sad look, but continued on with the briefing: "Fire and maneuver, that's the name of the game, fire and maneuver. Dog and Fox company will be on our left flank, moving with us. Any questions?"

Before anyone could speak up, the sudden bursts of 88s erupted. Everyone immediately took cover, diving anywhere they could reach. A man standing by Luz's foxhole got hit right in the neck, blood squirted out as if it were a geyser. He collapsed, while Luz pulled him into the safety of the foxhole with his free hand. His other hand was latched onto his radio receiver.

"Here we go again!" Hoobler exclaimed over the gunfire.

Marie ran over and leapt into Luz's foxhole, almost landing on his lap. She took out some gauze and bandages, quickly doing everything she could for the wounded soldier, who's blood continued to profusely pump from his neck. She crawled out of the foxhole, and ran over to 2nd platoon. Easy Company was giving everything they had against the Germans, but this time it didn't seem enough. It felt like the Germans were the ones pushing _them_ back this time.

Marie saw Guarnere in the distance, covering fire on a small hill. She made her way over to him, skidding on the ground to a stop, trying to avoid being hit with any bullets.

"Everything okay down here?" She asked her squad leader, panting. She hadn't had time to catch her breath since the unexpected barrage started.

"No wounded that I've seen, yet!" Guarnere yelled back to her.

An explosion rocked them both, followed by splintered trees crumbling around them, shooting bark in every direction like wooden bullets. Marie planted her heels in the dirt, forcing herself not to slide down the hill by the impact. A deep rumbling shook the ground, as if a giant was stomping across the lands.

"What was that?" She shouted over to Guarnere.

"Panzers!" Guarnere bellowed.

Large German tanks suddenly appeared out of nowhere and were rolling ominously across the fields. The sight of them made Marie's heart skip a beat; Easy Company were extremely unprepared for this. The tanks started to fire, obliterating everything in sight. Trees were knocked over and reduced to stumps, timbering down and almost hitting panicked soldiers. It was a nightmare. Marie let herself roll down the hill, out of sight from the incoming tanks. People in their foxholes were getting blown to bits; even the cover of the foxholes couldn't protect them against the horrible destructive force of the Panzers.

"Malark, get over here!" She heard Buck's voice call among the chaos.

She crawled forward on her hands and knees, keeping her eyes peeled for Malarkey. She saw Malarkey making his way across a pasture. He was about a hundred yards away, too far for Marie to follow him. Mortar fire rained down around him, making Marie's head swim with fear.

She closed her eyes, feeling the pressure from the tumultuous atmosphere set in. Everywhere she looked trees were exploding. Marie covered her ears and started to scream, releasing all the built-up stress inside her, though her panicked cries were easily drowned out by the chaotic, deafening noises that surrounded her. She knew she was a sitting duck in her current position, but part of her didn't want to move. A tank missle had struck a tree a few yards from her, its stump had almost been sliced right down the middle like a stick of butter. It started to fall, unable to support its weight. The sound of the explosion had knocked Marie back to her senses, she noticed the tree about to crash down upon her and was able to evade it last second by scrambling away in an unorthodox fashion.

In the distance, Dog and Fox Company were retreating, leaving Easy Company's right and left flanks wide open. Easy Company was the only company holding the line now. This had been the first-time Marie had thought that they were all _actually_ going to die. She stood up and decided to run to see Malarkey anyway. This could be her last chance to ever see him alive, so the risk was worth it. She booked it across the pasture, tanks and mortar fire raining down all around the fields. She saw the lone building where Malarkey had run into. It grew closer and closer with every step as Marie pushed herself toward the doors.

She stumbled inside, almost landing on her face as she thrust open the doors. Roe and Malarkey jumped, startled by her abrupt entrance. She stood immobile at the building entrance, trying to catch her breath while her lungs struggled for air.

"Good timing, Sergeant. I need your help," Roe said in a hurried voice.

Marie saw that the building was full with wounded soldiers, all waiting in line to be treated. Roe was currently wrapping up a soldier's bare chest. Roe's sleeves and hands were soaked in blood; she watched his steady and methodical patchwork.

Malarkey held his right hand, waiting in line like the rest of the men. She realized he had been wounded. Alarmed, Marie jogged over to him, checking him over.

"I took a piece of shrapnel to the hand," Malarkey told her, holding up his bloody hand, sliced in between two of his fingers, and ran down to his palm.

"That's a Purple Heart wound, Malark," Roe calmly said to him.

Malarkey gazed over at him, stunned by the scene of so many badly bloodied and wounded men in one setting. Outside the tanks still roared with vengeance, a grim reminder of what was waiting outside those doors.

"I don't want any Purple Hearts. But how about a bandage?" Malarkey replied.

"I've got one, Don," Marie answered, rummaging through her pack.

She pulled out one and started to wrap up his hand. Marie bit her lip in concentration as she patched him up, making sure his right hand would still be of use to him.

"Thanks, hon," he said hastily. He went over and grabbed all the ammo his hands could carry.

"You're going back out there?" Marie asked him, knowing it was a dumb question.

"Of course! Stay here and help the Doc!" Malarkey told her, running out the door and back into the fray.

She said a silent prayer to herself for Malarkey, Emilia and Muck.

**0000**

It was mid-afternoon now, and the hope of conquering Carentan was diminishing. There were so many wounded and close casualties stacking up that Marie and Roe could barely keep up with the demand. She was running drastically low on morphine and sulfa powder, leaving only some bandages and gauze left in her pack. She needed to stock up on her supplies, but it was impossible at the moment with the Panzers roaming around Carentan. Marie felt that they were going to be overrun at any moment. She pictured the tanks crashing through the building and crushing them all relentlessly. But there was a sound outside that Marie hadn't heard since Carentan had begun. The men outside were cheering. She looked puzzled over at Roe, whom returned her confused glance. She decided to go outside and see what the sudden lifted mood was about. Outside she saw more tanks, but they didn't look like Panzers. She ran over to the hedgerow, keeping her head low. She spotted Muck and Malarkey taking cover in the hedgerow, cheering along with the rest of Easy Company.

Marie crouched beside them, staring at the newly arrived tanks as they rolled across the field.

"Check it out, Shermans!" Muck said gleefully to her, elbowing Marie to get her attention.

It was the 2nd Armored Division and they brought about sixty tanks as reinforcements. Marie's mouth gaped at the sight of an armory of tanks pushing back the Germans. She couldn't help but smile in relief at the sight.

"About damn time!" Malarkey exclaimed.

Marie saw as Easy Company started to shoot unmercifully at the retreating Germans, desperate to escape the Americans as they crossed the fields. The sight made Marie actually feel mutely satisfied, although she wouldn't admit that aloud.

Before she knew the blitz was over. Easy Company emerged from their cover and went to check the fields, riddled with debris and death from the long, hard fight. Marie saw Winters had found a wounded and dying German soldier, laying on the ground. He had ordered Malarkey to put the poor soul out of his misery. Malarkey followed orders, whipped out his P38 from its holster, and put one right between the German's hopeless eyes. Marie closed her eyes and looked away. The German's young face was pleading with Malarkey to pull the trigger and get it all over with, his mouth moved wordlessly as he stared up at the three paratroopers. Marie stared into the German's blue eyes, bloodshot and tearing from fear and fatigue.

Winters saw her distressed posture and tapped her lightly on the shoulder. She turned to face his sad, smiling face. She couldn't bring herself to return the smile.

"Good work out there today," he complimented.

Marie laughed humorlessly: "I wasn't much help out here in the field, sir."

"Of course you were! You patched up dozens of soldiers with Eugene Roe today. You'll get the hang of things, Docherty. It was one of the hardest fights we've had on Carentan yet."

Marie instinctively raised her hand and touched the gash on her forehead, remembering the previous battle. Winters glanced at her forehead then back at her, giving her another melancholy smile.

"Don't be so hard on yourself," he told her softly.

He trudged off, leaving her, Malarkey, and the dead German soldier. Malarkey walked up to her, studying her face for a moment.

"We're still not done with Carentan yet, are we?" Marie asked her friend, not really wanting to hear the answer.

Malarkey smiled wearily: "No… I think we have a few more things to check on. We're Easy Company, Marie. We're never done."


End file.
